A Treatise Concerning the Influence of the Sun and Moon Upon Human Bodies ...

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Ck. H . /Ji'

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"#' 'T*". J»mwf-- " "VF 'V"^' — ^^

J

I

I

•I

TREATISE

concerning the

I N F L U E NCE

of the

SUN and MOON

Upon

HUMAN BODIES,

and

i the Diseases thereby produced*

kiCHARD MEAD,

Fellow of the Roval Colleges of Phyficians at London
and Edinburgb^ and of the Royal Society,
\ and Phyfician to His Majefty.

*

Tranflated from the Latin, under the Author's Infpe^ioiij

By ttiO MJS STJCKiM.n.F.K.a.

Rationalem puto medicinam ejfedehere\ inftrui yero at evi^-
deniibus caujisy obfcuris omnibus non a cogitaiionf artipcU^
■ fid ab ipfa artt rejiSlh. Celf. in Praefat*

I ' '

I SOS •

9

\ LONDON:

J^rinted for J.Brindley, Bobkfeller to His Royal ttighrteft
the Prince afWAiKS, in iVIrw5<>;*rf;/?rr^j Mdccxlviix.

[iu]

ADVERTISEMENT.

HAVING refolved, at the in-
fiance of fome friends, to
give a fecond edition of this fmall
Treatife, I thought it incumbent on
me, to read it over attentively ; in
order to make fuch additions and
improvements, as above forty years
experience might have fuggefted to
me fince its firft publication. Ac-
cordingly, in this review, I have
explained fome mathematical mat-
ters in a clearer manner than I had
formerly done;, and I have illuftra-
ted and confirmed the medicinal
part by feveral additional obferva-
tions and cafes, which may prove
ijfeful in the pradice of phyfic.
And indeed, that a due confide-
rg-tion of this fubjed is extenfively

A3

^

iv ADFERTISBMENT,

ufefui to a phyfician, will appear
with fufficient evidence, from the
various kinds of difeafes, the courfes
and returns of which I have herein
fhcwn to depend on the different
pofitions and revolutions of the Sun
and Moon. Ncfw, though a pre-
vious acquaintance with the Af<3:-»
thematkal principles of natural phi-^
lofophy be requifite for comprehend-*
ing this fubjed in its full extenit ;
yet as thofe, who are little affedtedi
by geometrical demonftrations, may
poflibly be convinced by a number
of fads, I fliall not, with refped
to this little work, infift on that?
faying of Plato :

I

. OTAEir ArEnMETPHTOZ: DISITfi.
het none unjkilled in geometry enter here^

London, '

July I. 1746.

i

PREFACE

fv]

PREFACE.

AS the fiudy of phyjic has in
all ages undergone various^
changes^ according to the different
opinions of philofophers ; I have of--
ten wondered^ how it comes to pafs^
thaty notwithfianding the conjidera-^
hie advances made in the fiudy of
nature by the moderns ^ efpecially in
the laf century y this ufeful art hat
not received thofe benefits^ which
might reafonably be expe&ed from
afurer method of reafoning^ than
men were formerly acquainted with.
^ ^at fome of the moderns y particu-^
larly Galilei, Kepler, Torricelli^

and

vi PREFACE.

and Sir Ifaac Newton, have made
vaji improvements in natural phi-
lofophy^ by joining mathematical
Teafonings to their inquiries into
nature J is well known to the learned
world : and yet medicine fiill deals
fo much in conje&ure^ that it hard-^
iy deferves the name of ajcience.
Whether this be owing to the na-
ture of the arty as being incapable
of fur e principles ; or rather ^ to
the artijls^ who having got into a
wrong tracks will not take the pains
to return into the right road ; may
poffibly be a matter of inquiry on
fome other occafion. In the mean
timcy in order to prove^ how bene-
ficial thejludy of geometry mujl be
to phyjiciansy as well for invejli-
gating the caufes of difeafeSy as for
finding proper remedies for them ; /
' have attempted to explain a very
difficult quejliony concerning the
courfes and returns of fome diil^m-

pers 5

PREFACE. vii

pers ; the nature of which is fucby
that it cannot he thoroughly well
handled by any other means.

Thus / am neceffttated^ in this
difquifition^ to enter into a few more
minute calculations^ than a medical
fubjeSi might feem to require.
Wherefore the reader ought to
ba^e fome knowledge of Sir liaac
Newton'f philofophy; or at leafi^
underfland the learned andfagaci-
ous Dr. HalleyV Theory of the
Tides, upon the principles of that
great philofopher ^ as publijbed in
the Philofophical Tranfa<ftions,
And thofe^ who have no tajie for
mathematical Jludies, may, if they
pleafe, pafs over this part of the
work. For my part, I never ex-
pe& to acquire reputation by alger-
braical calculations, thoroughly fen-
fible of the mediocrity of my genius
in that branch of learning. But I

flatter

viii PREFACE*

flatter tnyf elf ^ that thefe fheets ^tlt
be found to contain fome hiftorm
and inftruSiionSy from which even
thofe^ who defpife all reafoning ij^
phyficy and rely on experience /z-
lone^ noill reap benefit in pra&ice t
which indeed is tht main defign of
this little Treatife.

The field is large, in inhich wt
run our career', nor are the innu-^
mer able evils, with Which we are
daily fur rounded, to be remedied
by any one method. The two great
pillars of medicine are experience
and reafon ; and he that has no
Confidence in the latter, at lea ft bids
the fairer towards relieving the
fick, in proportion to his flock of
the former. But yet the buflnefs of
our profeflion requires the joint af-
fiflance of both ; becaufe a rational
theory will teach a man to apply

his

P R E F A C £• ix

his experimental knowledge to tht
various cafes that occur.

For although a very few rente--
dieSj found out by chance^ and
confirmed by ufe^ might pofftbly
have been fufficient for curing the
diforders of men in the earlieft
times^ whoy we are told^ led fobef
and' aSliv^ lives ; yet infucceeding
ageSy when their confiitutions had
been injured by Jloth and luxury^
they Jiood in need of different me--
thods of cure : inafmuch as it now
became necejfary to inquire^ not on^
ly into the caufe of the dijlemper^
but alfo how its nature and ufual
appearance had been changed in
this or that individual. Henci
that faying of Hippocrates [a) :
thg phyfician ftiould have an eye

B to

{a) £pid«m« Iib< I

•■ 9 »

X PREFACE.

«

to things common and pecufiar:
becau/hy as Gelfus right fy obferoes^
there are cafes, in which the iame
difbrder puts on a different appei^-
rance from that, which it uliially
has ; and the difcovery of the
caufe is Sometimes the cure of the
diflemper (jJ).

And // // probable^ that the
only reafofty why the profeffion of
pbyjic lay buried in total darknd&
for near five hundred years^ that
isy from tie Trojan to the l*do^
pomiefian war, as Pliny has re-
corded (r) ; was, that, whereas
new difeafes flarted up from time
to time, and thfiy who had nb-
thing but experience to make them
pfyficidns, were unequal to thefe
fiew difficulties j the philofoph&s

en-^

i^) In pra&t.

{c) Lib, xxix. in prooem.

PREFACE. xi

et^offed tie arfj which was found
to be lame and infirm without the
knowledge of nature. Thus Celfus
fays of that fame fpace of time,
that the fciencc of phyiic was ac-
counted a part of philofophy ; fo
thfit the curii^g of difeafes, and
the contemplation of .nature, took
their rife from the iame perfom

Now, as it is of confequence to
thefubjeB in haMy fo it is eafy
to prove, that . tbofe philofophersy
who laid the fir ft foundations of
our arty were really famous geo-,
metricians. And fir fi^ the mofl
eminent among the fages of anti-
quity was Pythagoras, who had
acquired fuch high reputation for
bis Jkill in phyfic, that it was

B a corn-

ed') Loco citato.

xii P R E F A C £•

commonly faidj that he travelled,
not fo mueh for the fake of in-
ftrudling people, as of curing
them [e). But the progrefs made
by him in mathematical Jiudies alfb
was extraordinary. Witnefs his
two noble dif cover ies ; the one^ Of
the fquare defcribed upon the fide
fubtending the right angle in a
right-angled triangle, being equal
to both the fquar^s defcribed up-
on the fides containing the right
angle j the other^ Of the area of
the parabola, whieh^ according to
Proclus {f\y he jirfi demonjirated^
For the firfl of theje problems ^ hr
thenseifs (^) €i:nd Diogene? Laer-
tius (/&), upon the authority of
j\pollodorus the arithmetician^ fay y

that

» •

{e) Aclian, var.Hift. lib. iv. cap. 17,
(jT) Lib. iv. ad primum Euclid,
(g) Lib. X. pag. 418.
(h) Jn vita Pythagorae, lib. viii, fegm,
12.

P R E F A C E/

that ht offered a hecatomb in fa^
crificfi: But Plutarch (i% after
citing • a verfe of Apollodoms,
Jeavei it doubtful for which of
th0 two he made that offering.

4

- Empedocles. was his difcipk in
Italy, a perfon of a vafi genius^
whoy having penetrated into na-.
tures inmoji receffes^ performed
fuch great things in our proftf-
fon^ as were not to be expe£ied
from a bare experimental know--
ledge of phyjic. For when his na-
tive city Agrigentum was infeSied
with a dreadful plague^ ha foon
found out the caufe ; and thereup-
on, by flopping up fome opening*
in the mountains, thro' which un-
wholibme wind? iiTuing brought
the contagion, he averted the e-

vil

(/) Quod ne vivere jucundc quifquaiii
po0it^ qui fedtam fequatur ^pkuri.*

xw PREFACE.

vfl {/tj. He remiered the fame
fervke to the Sdinunttans : far
when th^ were fcized with a
plague from the corruption and
flench of the ilagnating waters of
a river, which furrounded the
city ; he ordered two neighbour-
ing river$ to be conveyed into it :
by which means, having made
a current, and cleanfed the chan-
nel, the waters gradually grew
Iwcet, and the plague ceafed (/).
Nem thefefa&s are the more wor-
thy of being recorded ; becaufe the
ancients were generally of opinion^
that peftilence proceeded from the
cf^er of the godsy and therefore
was not to be cur^ by natural re-
medies : whereas in both thefe cafesy
the remedies were pointed out by

ptechanical

(k) Idem, de curiofitate, & Lib. contra
Coloten.
{I) yid. Diog. Idcrt. lib. vlji. &gm. 70*

PREFACE. »

mechanical reafomng ; and that
calamities of this kind are owiag
tofuch caiifesy is confirmed by ^
great number of obferoatiom fidh
lifbed by various author s»

Demochitusl, ^bo is thought fy
fome to heme been HippociatcsV
inajhr^ was eqstdlly famous fer
geometry and jfyfic* ^ ^ *'
faid to have vfritten^ among other
things^ Of the cmti/Bi of Ac dr-
^ and^^ltec; Of gcomctiy^
Of «BCQmiBeiifuraiile ynet : at
alfi Of die nature of flian; Of
^ faumors ; ^nd Of {4agiic»

By thofe great imn^ and others
Uhe themy was this profejion car-
ried on to the time of Wppocrates ;
wbo^ as Celfus fays^ was the firft

that

im) Idem in viu Dcmocriti, fib. ix,
leg^. 46 & 47.

xvi PREFACE*

that feparated this art from phi-
lofophy («). For h, plainly per-
ceivings that the fuperfiitton of
the common peopUy tht impudence
and vain pretences of quacks^ and
the pride and vanity of the fo-
phifls^ were mighty obfiacles to the
improvement of the art ; propofed
to himfelj in all his writings^ to
guard againfi thofe impediments
and difficulties. And accordingly,
in his valuable hook De xnorbo fe-
'cro, he teaches how to obviate f alps
religious notions: and is very co~
pious in dete&ing the frauds and
fallacies of thofe men, who covered
their ignorance with a veil of pi-
ety ^ making profeffion of charming
away thofe dtfeafes, which they
could not cure by medicines. In
bis books De arte, De decoro, De

(n) In prafetionc.

PREFACE. icvii

praeceptiombus, he difputes^ not only
againfi tbofe^ who denied that pbyjic
was ah atty and therefore had tut '
regard to any thing but experience ;
but alfo againft thofe^ who praEli"
fed upon a wrong plan. And be^
caufe the divine old man is made a
tool by contending parties for their
refpeSlpoe notions ; / cannot avoid
obferving, that mechanical reafon"
ing is every where approved and
recommended in thofe triatifes by
that great parent of medicine. For
he fays : I praife reafbning, when
it is grouiided on fuch principles
as fall under our fenfes, or are
proved by experiments ; and draws
concluiioHs from manifefl premifes.
feut if it is carried on by vmjufl
deductions, and is built upon ficti-
tious opinions, it occaiions great
trouble and difficulties (0). And

C this

{p) Lib* de prftccpt

xviii I> R E F A C t.

this fentiment is illuftrated and
confirmed in his book De prifca iilc*
idicina : nsohere after faying^ that
mod phyficians arc very like un-
fkilful pilots, whofe ignorance of
their art is not dilcovered, while,
the veflels fail in good weather be-
forC'the wind ; but if a ftorm a-
rife, then it foon appears, that
their blunders were the caufe of
the fhipwrecks, which happen :
he fells uSy- 'that 'OUT chief care
fhould be to learn the properties
t)f things, not by ImagiriJng or
Contriving, but by finding out the
povyer^, which they are endowed
with, and exercife on our bodies ;.
in w^hich inquiry great regard muft
be paid, both to the qualities
of the humors, and to the figures
of the parts : fome of which from
a wide beginning fun into a nar-
row apex, ptliers ' gre more and

more .

i

PREFACE. XIX

fnofe expanded ; Ibme are fmooth
and cylindrical ; fome > denfe or
iirm, others in iine thin and lax.
This is the wifdomy which ought to
accompany the jiudy of medicine \
by means of which he fays ^ the ar*
tift becomes equal to the gods (p).

But I fhall enlarge no further
at prefent on this, theme. However
it manifejily appears from what
has been hitherto faidy that Hippo-
crates gave the name of fophifts (q)
to thofe^ who argued on fi&itious
principles ; and that of real phy-
ficians [r] to thofe^ who reafon from
the laws of nature y and a know-*
ledge of the animal fabric. Which
J obferve for the fake of thofe^ who^
as if there was no differ eftce be-

C 2 tween

(p) Lib. de decorq^
(y) So^i^oftV*
(r) "E^yw ♦Vg»V»

%x PREFACE.

fwee» the grouncllefs hypothefes of
philofopherSy and the certain con-r
cluftons of geometricians^ hold this
tnofi tffeful faience in cont empty and
fven turn it into ridicule before the
ignorant multitude. But furely
tkefe apply themf elves both to phihr
fophy and phyfec^ without having
0ny ge/fius to cipher ; for want- of
which they cannot difcern the wide
difiance. between fophijfical opinion^
find geometrical reafonings. For
hcy whQ builds an hypothejisy follows
plaujibility y and thinks it fufjicienty
if he can account for appearances^
from his^ principles : whereas me--
(hanjcal theory deals in demonftra^
fionsy which the able geometrician
deduces either from toe figures of
ffodiesy §p from the known laws of
ff^oifon^ by necejary confequences.

PREFACE. xxi

Examples willfet this matter in
a clearer light. Des Cartes com'-
piled afet of fujlpicions and ccmjeC''
tures on the gravity of bodies,
and yet made no proficiency thereby
in the knowledge of nature : but
fir Ifaac Newton, by furfuing its
laws in a geometrical manner y
mtbout any regard to the caufcy
laid open to our contemplation the
real fabric of the world, DoSlor
Willis invented an idea of fopori-
ferous difeafes y from which we
learny that the author had words
at , willy but knew nothing of the
nature of thofe difeafes : whereas
Bellini, by bringing their hifiory
and fymptoms under mechanical
reafoningSy paved the way to the
knowledge and cure of thofe great
fViU' Bui enough of tbisfubjeSl.

When

xxii P KEF ACE;

Whe N / bad ammunicatect my
intention of pibli/hing this piece to
my friend the celebrated dr, Pit-
cairne, he not only appUwded my
defigny hut, of his great humanity ^
readily fent me fome hiftories of
periodical difeafes out of his large
flock, Ihofe I have ranged in
their proper places, as confiderahU
ornaments to my little book, n^
■without afenfe of pleafure, in fee-
ing my opinion confirmed by the te-
Jlimony of fo great a mafler in
thefe ftudies ; and the rather, be-
caufe it was proper . to produce the
obfervations of others, as well as
ifny own, in fupport of this new
theory. And 1 may not conceal in
this place, that our differ tation dif-
plays, not a little, the wifdom, good*
nefSf and wonderful contrivance of

the

PREFACE. xxiii

the omnipotent Creator of the worlds
whoy while he made ample provijton
for all living things^ efiabliped this
difference between brutes and ra-
tional creatures^ that whereas thofe
enjoy the commoH gifts of nature^
he has permitted us^ befides^ to in-
vefiigate their properties and ufes,
and to contemplate the labyrinth of
his divine works.

Lastly, / have hut lightly
touched upon the cure ^ the cafes
related in this treatife ; becaufe 1
intend^ whenever I find fufficient
leifurey to publifh the mofl re-
markable obfervations , which I
have already, or may hereafter
make on mojl difeafes,

London,
A. D. 1704.

( • )

Tre atise

concerning die

INFLUENCE

of the

SUN and MOON

upon

Human bodies, ^c.

CHAP. 1.

Tiat the fun aiid moon caufi 'Oari-
ous cAterations in the human body^
according to their different pofi-
tions with refpeB to the earth,

IT was the general opinion of
the ancient phyficians^ that
fome difeafes are entirely ow-
ing to the influence of the c<?le(lial

D * bo-'

2 Influence of fun and moon

bodies, and that the paroxyfins
and periods of others are regulated
by the adlion of the moon in par-
ticular : wherefore the earlieft hi-
ftories of Epidemics, which have
been handed down to us, are full
of the motions and powers of thofe
luminous orbs. Upon this princi-
ple it is, that Hippocrates advifes
his Ion Theffalus to the fiudy of
numbers and geometry [a) : be-
caufe, fays he, the rtfing and fet-
ting of the Jlars have a great ef-
feSi on jdijiempers {b).

But when in courfe of time
medicine began to be acconfimoda.-
tcd to the reafonings of philofo-
phers ; no body being able to ac-
count for the manner of this cele-
ilial adion, and the rule of obfer-
vation being gradually laid afide,
' it

«>*

upon human bodies. 3

it was allowed no farther fliare in
afFcding our health, than what
might be imputed to the changes
in the manifell conftitution of the
air : excepting perhaps fomething
of truthjwhich ftill remains difgui-
fed and blended with the jargon of
judicial aftrology.

In order therefore to fet this ob-
fcure and difficult matter in a little
clearer light, I jQiall in the firft
place endeavour to fhew, that the
fun and moon, regarding their
ncarnefs and diredion to the earth
only, befides the effeds of heat,
moifture, ^c. thereby caufed in
our atmofphere, muft at certain
times make fome alterations in ani-
mal bodies; then enumerate fome
hiftories and obfervations of fuch
changes, and inquire of what ufb
fuch thoughts as thefe may be in
the pradice of phyfic.

\> z It

^. Influence of fun and moon

It is a conflant obfervation of
thofe, who have written the hifto-r
Tf of the winds, that the moft
windy feafons of the year are the
times about the vernal and autum^;
nal equinox. Every body likewife
knows, that in the moft quiet wpa-
ther there is generally fbme breeze
at mid-day and mid-night, as alfo
at full fpa, that is, always about the
time when the fun or moon arr
rives at thp meridian, either over or
under our hcmifphcre. Seamen
and country people reckon upoQ
this, and order their affairs acqordr
ingly. And thp changes of the
weather, as to winds or calms, efr
peciaUy about the new and full
moon, are too well known to re-
quire any authority to confirm!
fuch remarks. Thofe, who defirc
9. fuller account of thele obfervatir
ons, may fee it in y. Goad's aftro-.

meteorolo^ia

upen human bodiet. 5

fHete$r6logia (<). Thesfe tluiigs jbc-
ing maCters of fa£b, and in a man<^
ner regular and wiverfal, it may
very well feem ftrange, that phi-T
lofopl^ere have not been more accu-
rate in their inquiries into the rea^^
Ion of fuch appearances. True
indeed it is, that the origin of
winds is various and incertain ;
]but however, fo conftant and uni-
form an cfFeft muft undoubtedly be
pwing to one nec^flary caufe.

It has been, now a confiderable
time flnce, fufHciently made out^
that our atmofphere is a thin eUAic
fluid, one part of which gravitate^
Vipon another, and whoie preHlirQ
is communicated every way in ^
fphere to any given part thereof.
From hence it follows, that if by
^ny external caiif^ the gravity of

iany

m

$

{() Lojtdfifi^ 1690. 4%

6 Influence of fun and moon

any one part fhould be diminifhed,
the more heavy air would rufh in
from all fides around this part, to
rcftore the equilibrium, which muft
of ncceffity be prefcrved in all
fluids. Now this violent running
in of the heavier air would certain-
ly produce a wind, which is no
more than a flrong motion of the
air in fbme determined diredion.
If therefore we can find any ge-
neral caufe, that would, at thefe
fHted feafons, which we have men-
tioned, diminifh the weight or
prelTure of the atmofphere; we
fhall have the genuine reafbn of
thefe periodical winds, and the ne-
ceflary confequences thereof.

The flux and reflux of the fea
was a phenomenon too viilble, too
regular, and too much conducing
to the fubfiflance of mankind, and
all other animals, to be negleded

# 1

by

upon human bodies. 7

by thoie, who applied themfelves
to the ftudy of nature : however
all their attempts to explain this
admirable contrivance of infinite
wifdom were unfuccefsful, till fir
Ifaac Newton revealed to the world
jufter principles ; and by a truer
philofophy, than was formerly
known, fhewed us how, by the
united or divided forces of the fun
and moon, which are increased
and leflcned by feveral circumftan-
ces, all the varieties of the tides
are to be accounted for. And
fince all the changes, we have enu-
merated in the atmolphere, do fall
out at the fame times, when thofe
happen in the ocean ', and likewife
whereas both the waters of the fea,
^nd the air of our earth, are fluids
(ubjed, in a great mcafure, to the
fame laws of motion j it is plain,
that the rule of our great philofoi
pher takes place here, viz, that na-
tural

d Influence of fun and moon

tural eJfeSis of the fame krnJ afi
to he aftributedy as much as foffl^
bUy t9 the fame Caufes (d).

What difference that known
{property of the air, which is not in
water, makes in the cafe, I fhall
fhew anon. Setting afide the con-
itderation of that for the prefent.
It is certain, that as the fea is, (o
muft our air, twice every tw^cnty
five hours, be rki(ed upwards to a
confideraUe height, by the attrac-
tion of the moon coming to thd
meridian ; (o that inftead of a
fphericaly it muft form itfelf into
z.fpheroidal figure, whofe longeflr
diameter, being produced, would
pais thro* the moon. That the
uke raifing mufl follow, as often
as the fun is in the meridian of any
place, either above or below the

horizon ;

{d) Nmm. Princip.paf. ^ip

upon human bodies. 9

horizon ; and that the moon*s
power of producing this efFedl ex-
ceeds that of the fun, in the pro-
portion of 4 T to I nearly. More-
over, that this elevation is greatejl
upon the new and full moons, be-
caufe both fun and moon do then
conlpirc in their attraction ; leaji
on the quarters, in that they then
drawing different ways, it is only
the difference of their actions that
produces the effect ; laftly, that
this intumefcence will be of a mid-
dle degrecy at the time between
the quarters, and new and full
moon. The different diflances of
the moon in her pertgasum and
apogaum, likewife increafe or di-
minilh this power. Befides, .the
fun's lefler diftance from the earth
in winter is the reafon, that the
greateft and Icaft attradion of the
air upwards more frequently hap-
pens a little before the vernal, and

JB after

to Influence of fun and mom

after the autumnal equjnox. And
in places, where the moon declines
from the equator, the attra<Slion is
greater and leflcr alternately, on
account of the diurnal rotation of
the earth on its axis.

Whatever has been faid on
this head, is no more than apply-
ing, what fir Ifaac Newton has de-
monftrated of the iea, to our at-
mofphere; and it is needled to.
fhew, how neceflarily thofe appear-
ances, juft now mentioned of winds,
at the flated times, muft happen
hereupon. It will be of more ufe
to confider the proportion of the
forces of the two luminaries upon
the air^ to that which they have
uponjthc watcrsof our globe; that
it may the more plainly appear,
what influence the alterations here-
by made muft have upon the ani-
mal body.

Si»

upon human bodies. 1 1

Sir If aac Newton has dcmon-
ftrated, {e) that the force of the
fun to move the fea, is to the force
of gravity, as i to 1 2 868 200.
Let this be

S : G : : 1 i n. Hence, S==: — .

n

And that the force of the moon to
xaife the fea is to gravity, as i to
2^71400. Let this be

L : G ; : I : J, Hence, La= — ,

s

And flncc the centrifugal force
jof the parts of the earth, arifing
from its diurnal motion, is to gravi-
ty, as I to 289 ; let this be

*

C: G It I : e. Then C= -i

e

E a Hence,

(#) Jhrincif. Uh Hi. Pfof^ ^6. ^ 3;^ .

1 2 Influence of fun and moort
Hence,

G G G I II

n s e n s e'

sn
S : m : : l : 8123.

The fame philofopher has taught
us, that the centrifugal force raifes
the water at the equator above the
water at the poles, to the height of
85472 feet (/). Wherefore if that
force, which is as 8123, raifes the
ocean to 85472 feet; the united
forces of the fun and moon, which
are as i, will raife the fame to i o
T feet :

85472

/or == I o V nearly,

,8123

Now,

(f) liii. Uh. Hi. Prop. 37,

upon human bodies, i 3

\

Now, wp know that the more
cafily the watef can obey the at-
tradion, with the more force arc
the tides moved : biit fince, as
the fagacious dr. Hattey h^s deter-
mined it, our atmofphere is extend-*
ed to forty four miles, w;facreas
the middle depth of the ocean is
but about half a mile ; it is plain,
that , the air, revolving in ^ fohere
about a hundred times larger than
that of the ocean, even fuppoflnj
the whole tqreftrial globe covere(
with water, will have a proporti-
onably greater agitation. Besides
rocks, fhelves, aiid the inequality
of fhoars are a great fliop to the
accefs and recels of the fea : but
nothing repels the rifing air, which
is alfo of fuch thinnefs and fluidi-
ty, that it is eafily driven, and runs
every way.

Nor

J 4 Influence of fun and moon

Nor ought we to omit, that it
is the univerfal law of bodies at-*
traded, that the force of attradi-^
on is reciprocally as the fquares of
their diftances ; fo that the adioi>
of the fun and moon will be great-
er upon the air, than upon the
water, upon the account of its
neamefs. But the conflderation of
the elafticity is ftill of greater mo^
ment here ; of which this is the
nature, that it is reciprocally as
the prefllire: fo that the incum*
bent weight being diminifhed by
the attraction, the air underneath
will upon this fcore be mightily
expanded. True it is indeed) that
this prefliire diminifhes gradually,
in fuch fort, that it is of no mo-
ment , beyond a certain diftance
from the earth : but yet a fmall al-
teration therein produces a very
confid^^ble effed : bcijs^ufe there-^

■ ' , ky

upon human hodiesi t 5

by our ambient air the more-readi-
ly yields to the attractive faculty.

These and fuch Hke caufes will
make the tides in the air from the
moon's attraction, to be much
greater than thofe of the ocean.
Nor is it neceflary to our purpofe
to determine, by nice calculations,
their particular forces : it is fuffici>-
ent to have proved, that thefe mo-
tions muft both be univerfel, and
alfo return at certain intervals.

Now, fince the raifing of the
water of jthc ocean to ten feet and
a halfi produces torrents of fuch
a prodigious force ^ we may eafily
conceive what tempcfts of winds,
if not otherwife checked, the ele-
vation of the air much higher, per-
haps above a mile, will neceffarily
caufe. And there is no doubt to
be made, but that the, feme infi-
nitely

I

1 6 Influence of fun and moon

nitely wife being, who contrived
the flux and reflux of the fea, to
iecure that vafl colledlicai of wa-
ters from flagnation and corrupti-
on, which would inevitably de-
ftroy all the animals and vegetables
on this globe ; has ordered this ebb
and flood of the air of our atmo-
iphere, with the like good defign ;
that is, to prcferve the fweet freOi-
nefs, and brilk temper of this
fluid, fb neceflary to life; and
keep it, by a kind of continual
circulation, from deadnefs and
{linking. We daily feel the be-
nefits of this wonderful contri-
vance; but I' cannot find, that
the manner of it has been hitherto
accounted for. And yet no fub-
ytdi better deferved the ferious con-
fideration of phyficians : fince it
has been obferved, that people re-
cover fpeedily frc^ wafting chro^
nical diieafe? in clear open air ;

and

*

upon human hodies^ i j

and that the bed conftitutions are
Very liable to fickneis in moift cloifi
places.

This reafonrng is liable to only
one objeAion, that I know of^
which is this : that the appearancesi
we have mentioned, cannot be
owing to the caules now afligned ;
iince by calculation from thcm^
the mercury mull at new and full
moon fubfid^ in the barometer to
a certain degree ; which yet baro-
metrical writers do not oblerve to
happen. Rama%zini in particular
exprefles hia furprize on this head,
thinking it reafonable to fuppofe,
that as the tides in the wean ar&
obferoed to be greater at thofe times^
than at any other time of the moon^
on account of the injiuence^ isnhicb
this planet is thought to have on the
fea ; fo likewife fome refnarhable
change ought to appear in the gra-

F vity

1 8 Influence of fun and moon

vtty of the atmofphere. But yet^
fays he, nothing of this hind has
happened^ worth mentioning : for
through the whole courfe of this
year there was little or ?to difference
in the height of the mercury at the
new and full moons y with refpeSi to
the preceding and fuhfequent days ^
nor indeed during all the times of
its darknefs (g).

In anfwcr to which, it may not
be amifs to inquire into the caufc
of the rife and fall of the quickfil-
vcr in the barometer, which does
not feem to have been cleared up
by writers on this fubje<!^. Firft
then it is certain, that this heavy
fluid is raifed by the preflure of the
incumbent air, and that the pref-
fure of this element is in propor-
tion to its gravity : which as it is

the

(^) E-^btmriJ. iartmet. MititUHS. «««. 1 6^^.
f. xix.

upon human bodies, 1 9

the greater, the more air is con-
tained in the column dirediy im-
pending on the quickfilver; what-
foever increafes or diminifhes this
quantity of air, will make the
quickfilver rife, or fall in the tube.
Hence it is, that winds occafion
very confiderable changes in the
weather-glafs ; according as they
rarefy or condenfe the air in thia
column. Thus between the tro-
pics, where the trade-winds reign,
which are moderate gales, con-
stantly blowing from the fame
quarter for fevqral months toge-
ther, the variations of the baro-
meter are very inconfiderable, as
dr. Halley has obferved [h) ; where-
as in northern latitudes they are
confiderable, and indeed: more fo
tha,n in fouthern latitudes: becaufe
ilorms are more common in the

F 2 former.

20 Influence of fun and moon

former, than in the latter ; an(f at
thbfe times, which are mod fiib-
jed: to winds, the mercury varies
almoft every hour ; as Ramazzini
has obferved about the equinoxci*
For about thefe^ he fays, / have
obferved remarkable variations^ and
efpecially at the autumnal equinox ^
when the quickflver rofe and fell
fever al lines in one day ; whereas
in the foljl ices it kept the fame fa--
tion as the foregoing days (i). But
yet, let the air he railed ever fo
nigh at the new and full moon,
it cannot poffibly happen, that the
mercury ihould conftantly fubfide
in all places at thofe times : becaule
fuch is the known property of
winds, that thofe, which carry off
and rarefy the air in one place, .
crowd it in, and condcnfe it in ano^
ther,

(f) Lf^. (itai. fag, ff^^

upon human bodies, 1 1

This matter thus far explained,
it will not be improper to fubjoin
the folution of a difficult queftion,
which has raifed great contention
among philosophers : vi%, whereas
water is more th^n eight hundred
times heavier than air, how does
it happen, that the latter, when
replete with watery vapors, de-
prefTes the mercury in the baro-
meter; fo that its fall is an indi-
cation of rain? Now this phaeno-
menon feems to me to be chiefly
owing to the following caufes. Wa-
ter is (b entirely void of elafticity,
that no force can comprefs it into
a narrower cpmpafs; and at the
fame time, a boiling heat divides
it into fuch minute particles, as to
make it occupy fourteen thoufand
times more fpace, than it naturally
takes up (i). This vapor, more

than

{k) See Defaguliers*s tourfe of exferimenttd
^lofofby^ vol, if. U&. >r«

/

«. •

t f Influence of fan and moitn

than fixtcen times thinner than our
air, is fo fubtile, that it is eafily
retained by the particles of the
air, and unites with them, much
in the fame manner, as the very
fmail parts of metak, diflblved in
Ibme acid Hquors, are fufpended
by them* For it is well known,
that the more minutely bodies are
divided, the more furfece they ac-
quire in refpecft to their bulk. Be--
fides, the air, which we breathe,
contains a vaft number of particles
heavier than water, I mean the
exhalations from minerals, animals
and vegetables, and in a word
from all the produdions of the
earth. But perhaps what is of
greateft moment in* this cafe, is
the quality of the particles exhaled
from the earth, which are chiefly
fulphureous. For it has been
found by. experiments, that the

fun^Q&

upon htimdH iodieU 23

fiimes from fulpliur are fo contrarjr
to elafticity, that they quite de-
ftroy it (/). Now, fir I/aac JVew-
ton has fhewn, that almoft all bo-
dies contain fulphur : and the phae*
nomcna of lightning and thunder
fhew, that the atmofpherc is full
of it. Wherefore thefe reafons
fufficiently prove, that moift air
has lefe power to adi than dry air.-
When thefe very fubtile watery
vapors, by their attradive and re~
pulfive qualities, have run into one
another, and formed drops ; they
thereby become heavier than air,
and fall to the earth in the form
of rain: and then the air, freed
from thefe vapors, afts with greater
force, and raifes the mercury in
the barometer.

But

(I) SeeH^^pJiatUaleJIfaySy "961. i, f. i^o.
and 259.

^4- Influence of fun and moon

But to return ; the winds are
lyroduced by fo many different
caufes, that a perfon would find
himfclf greatly miftaken) who
would attempt to account for them
all upon any one principle.

Wherefore to thofe already
explained, we may add that con-
ftant caufe of the motion of the
air, I mean the heat of the fun.
For as dr. Halley (/») has demon-
ftrated, that the trade-winds, which
reign between the tropics, owe
their rife to it ; fo it is moft cer-
tain, that it may occaflon various
motions of the air in every part of
the terraqueous globe. Moreover,
we know that there fometimes hap-
pen violent tempefts in the upper
regions of the air, while we enjoy
a calm below ; and that the ridges

of

{») Philtranf, N' 183.

updn hufhan bodies, 25

bF mouhtaihis check the propaga-
tion bf the winds in thany places:
fo that it is nb wonder, that the
phsendmeiia of the changes of the
air^ \Vhich tve have afcribed to the
aiStion of the moon^ arfe not al-
ways conflant and uniform. Now
the chief caufes of lihcertaih and
irregular winds are thefe. Firft,
ekftic vapors forced from the bow-
els of the earth, by fubterraneous
heats, and cohdenfed by what
caufe foever in the atmofphere. Se-
condly, a mixture of effluvia of
different qualities in the air, may,
by rarefa^ons ahd fermentations,
produce winds^ and other efFedts^
like thofe refulting from the com-
bination of fome chemical liquors^
And that fuch things happen^ we
are afTured from the nature of
thunder, lightning, and meteors.
Thirdly, from the eruptions of
volcan9*Si and earthquakes ill dif^-

Q tant

2 6 Influence of fun and moon

tant places, winds may be propa-
gated to remoter countries. Laftly,
the^ divided or united forces of the
other planets, and of comets, may
yarioufly difturb the adion of the
full and moon.

Th£se thin^ being premifed,
it will not be difficult to fhew, that
thefe changes in our atmofphere at
high water, new and full moon,
the equinoxes, ^c, muft occafiont
Tome alterations in all animal bo-
dies ; and that from the following
confiderations.

First, all. living creatures re-
quire air of a determined gravity,
to perform refpiration eaflly, and
with advantage : for it is by its
Weight chiefly, that this fluid infi-
huates itfelf into the lungs. . Now
the gravity, as we have proved,
being leflened at thefe feafbns, a

iinaller

upon human bodies » .27

fmaller quantity than ijfual will
infinuate itfelf ; and this muft be
of fmaller force to comminute the
blood, and forward its paffage into
the left ventricle of the heart:
whence a flower circulation enfues,
and the Secretion of the nervoui
fluid is diminiflicd.

Secondly, this efFe<3: will be
the more fure, in that the elafti-
city of the atmofphere is likewife
diminiftied. Air proper for refpi-
ration muft be, not only heavy,
but alfo elaftic, to a certain de-
gree ; for as this is by its weight
forced into the cavity of the tho-
rax in infpiration, fo the mufcles
of the thorax and abdomen, prefs
it into the moft minute ramificati-
ons of the bronchia in expiration •
where the bending force being
fomewtiat taken off, and ipringy
bodies, when unbended, exerting

Q 3 their

28 Influence ^f fun an4 moon

their power every w^y, i^ proporT
tion. to their prcffures^; ^he part^
of the air pvfh againfl all the fides
of the v^ficulce^ and promote the
pafTage of the blood. The^-efore
the fame things, which caufe any
alteration^ in this property of the
air, will more or le{s diftqrb. the
animal motions. We have a con-r
vincing inftance of all this, in
thofe whp go to the top pf high
mountains : for the air is there fb
pure (as they pall it) that is, thin^^
and wants fo much of its gravity
and elafticity, that they cannot
take in a fufficient quantity of it
to inflate the lungs, and therefore
breathe with very great difiiculty.

Lastly, all the iluids in anir
mals have in them ^ mixture of
elailic tjturay which, when fet at
liberty, fliews its cner^, and
caufes thoie uiteiHne motions, we

obferve

upon human bodies, 119

pbferve in the blood and fpirits ;
fhe excefs of which is checked by
the external ambient air, while
^hofe juices are contained in their
proper vefTels. Now when the
preffure of the atmo^here upon
the forfacc of pur body is dimi-
niflied, the inward air in the vef-
fels muft" peceffkrily be inabled to
exert its force, in proportion to
the leflening of the gravity and ela-
fticity of the outward : hereupon
the juices begin to ferment, change
the union and cohefion of their
parts, and ftretch the veflels to
nich a degree, as fbmetimes to
burft the finalleft of them. This

... >

is very plain in living creatures put
into uie receiver, exhaufted by the
air-pump ; which always firft pant
for breath, and then fwell, as the
air is more and more drawn out :
their lungs at the fame time con-
gifting diemielves, and falling fo

toge-

3^^ Influence of fun and moon

together, as to be hardly difcernible,
eipecially in the leiler animals [n).

Concerning the weight of the
atmofphere on a human body, and
its difference of preffure at differ--
ent times, let this eftimate fufHce.
We will lay it down as certain,
that this weight and preffure may
be con^puted from the force, with
which the air raifes the quiclcfilver
in the barometer. The furface of
a man's body, of a middle fize,
is fifteen Iquare feet, or 2160
inches. The weight of a cubic
inch of quickfilver is 8,1 or, ^c,
ounces averdupois. Wherefore th^
prefllire of the air on erery fquarc
;nch of the human body, in th^
ratio of the weight of the quick-
filver in the barometer, will ftand
thu§. A- colunin of quickfilver,

(n) Efperimzc de^ aecadema del c'tmente, p.
118.

upon humaH bodies. ^ t

an inch fquare, can in England h6
raifed in the barometer to 30
inches and iV, by the air when
heavieft ; and it will fubflde to 2 8
inches, when the air is lighteft.
Confequcntly, the air, when hea-
vieft, will prefs on every inch of
the furface of the human body,
with the weight of 15 pounds
and 9 ounces ; when lighteft, with
that of 14 pounds 2 ounces aver-'
dupois. Thus the whole body, in
the heavieft air, fuftains a weight
of about 33684 pounds ; in the
lighteft, of 30622 pounds 5
ounces. Whence the difference of
prcflure at different times is 3062
pounds nearly. True it is, that
the internal air of the human bo-
dy makes a reliftance to that
weight: but yet fuch change of
preffiire muft neceffarily have con-
£derable effedsj ejpecially when
this internal air, through fome de-

1 fed

'*

5 i Influence of fun and modii

fe<% in the animal fluids, wifH
which it is tnixed, is incrcafed of
diminifhed ih its liatursd pfoper-
ties.

Before we proceed to other
matters, it may be worth the
while t9 take notiee of two things ;
firft, that effeds, depending on
fuch cautes as thefe, muft of ne^
ceffity be moft vifible in weak bo-'
dies, and morbid conftitutionSj
when other circumftances concur
to their taking place j while
urong bodies and found conftitu-
tions are little afFeded by them.
For this reaibn, whatever mifchiefs
do hence follow, cannot in the
lead difparage the wi& contrivance
of infinite power, in ordering
thefe tides of our atmoi^here. The
author of nature has certainly
made all things .to the greateft ad-*
vantage, that could be, for the

whol«

*'

upoH huttiati bodies t 3 3

tvhole fyftem of animals oii our
globe, altho* fuch a difpofitkMi
iiiight in fome cafes prove prejudi-
cial to a feWi The pofltion and
diftance of the fun are fo adjufted,
as to give, in the moft beneficial
manner pbflible, heat ind light to
the earth : yet this notwithftanding,
the exceflive fummer heats in fome
countries may be attended with
bad co/ifequeiicei ; in others, the
Winter colds may be fo intenfe,
that tender bodies cannot bear
them ; and in all feafbns and cli~
mates, changes of Iveather may
.give birth to difeafes.- The whole
however, we muft otvfi, is moft
carefully provided for. Befides,
as moft of thefe laft mentioned in-
convenieneies are by cafy fhifts to
be avoided j ^ there are fuch
powerful checks put to this aerial
flux and reflux, fo many ways of
abating the damages accruing from

H it

:34 Influence offtm and Moon

it now and then; that thefe are of
no account, in comparifon of the
mighty benefits hence arifing, in
which the race of mankind does
univerfally iharc^

Secondly, that the other pla-
nets have likcwife their peculiar
influences ; which, tho' inferior to
thofe -of the fun and moon, yet
contribute various ways towards
inbreafing or diminiihing the a6li-
on of thefe on human bodies. And
thefe united forces are of fuch
confequence, that violent and oc-
cult difeafes, with which whole
nations are feized, may be cer-
tainly attributed to them. And
ihe ^m)i Ti o€ Jomewhat divine of
Hippocrates («), which he recom-
mends to have regard to in di{^
cafesj is moft probably nothing

more

* \

(<?) Propfojiic. u

upon Buman todist. jy

more than the ftate of our atmO'
fphere, occafioned by the influ-
ence of the planets, or fome other
uncommon and unknown natural
caufe ; as I have more amply ex-
plained on another occafion [p).

(p) See Account of poilbns, e^cpf vi^ pag^
300. e/" the fourth edit.

Ha O H A IV

36 Influence ef ft^n and moon

*_ _*_ JL

CHAP. II.

Of the difeafeSi and fymptoms^
which derive their arigin fr9tti the
ahovementioned caufes*

I^OVf pyocecd to examine
what particular fundions of
animal bodies are difturbed by
thefe periodical rarefadioQs of
the fluids in their proper veflels :
and here I fhall not ground my
opinion on my own obfervatioi^
alone, but likewife take in the af-^
fiflance of other medical writers,
For there are no hiftories in phy^
fie, which we may. morip fafely
take upon the credit of the aur?
thors, who relate them, thanfuch
as we are now going to mention.
In fome cafes a point may perhaps
be fbained, to ferye a darling hy-
pothefis, which the >vriter has

2 taken

upon human bodies, 37

liaken up ; but here we are much
more likely to have pure matter of
fa£t : becaufe hitherto i)o one has
pretended, that the appearances of
this kind are within the reach of
^y fcheme of philofophy»

And iirft it appears j^vident to
pie, that the moon's influence is
neceflarily gn^ater on the nervous
fluid or animal fpirits, than on thq
jblood, or any other fluid of the
^nimal body. For &s that fluid is
compofed of extremely minute,
and (as I have fliewn elfewhere (q) )
elaflic parts ; it mufl: be the mor^
cafily fufceptible of the power of
any external caufe whateva*.
Wherefore the moon's adiion will
chiefly regard thofe difeafes, which
are occafloned by the vitiation of
^ofe fpirits,

Op

ft

{q) See IntroduStion to mcbanical amount cj
pifom^ 4tb edit.

3B Influence of fun and moon

Of this claTs none feem. more
remarkable than epileptic difeafjuy
which, befldes the other diiEcul-
ties, with which they are attend-
ed, have this alfo furprizing, that
in fome the fits do conftantly re-
turn every new and full moon.
Use moon^ fays Galen (r) governt
the periods df epileptic cafes. Upon
this fcore, they, who were thus
aiFe(Sted, were by the greek writers
fcmetimes called Xi'kfi^M.m (x), and
in the hiftories of the gofpel
XiXrivix^ofjLivoi (/), and by fome of
the Latins afterwards, Lunatici [u)*

And indeed, I myfelf rememr
ber, when I was phyfician to St.
Thomas % hofpital during the time,
of queen Alines wars with France^^

that

(/) De diehus criti-
thi lib. iii.

{P) Mattb. c. xvii.
V. 15.

(s) Alexand. TralU- l (u) Jfulem de vir-
aa, lib. i. c, 25. 1 tutibus berhr. ca^ §.

ti^m ffuman bodies* 39

that Several of the Tailors of our
fleets were brought thither, and
put under my care for this diftem--
per : moft of whom were new
jnen, who had contraded the dif-
■cafe by frights, cither in fea-en-
g^ements, or in ftorms. But the
moon's influence was fo vifible on
the generality of them at the new
and full, that I have often pre-
dided the times of the fits with
tolerable certainty. And T. Bar-
thoiin tells a flory of an epileptic
girly who had fpots in her facty
which varied l^ah in coloftr and
magnituidey according to the time of
the moon. So great, fays he, «
the correfpondence between our bo-
dies and the heavens (xj»

Moreover, the learned dr. Pit-
cairne has aiTured me, that he at-
tended a patient of thirty years of

age,

{hl) HtftQf. anahm. antur. iu biji. ^z.

4<^ tnfiuetice of fun dnd maoH

age, of a thin habit and fomewhaf
melancholic conflitution of body %
Ivho, nine years before, aftet a
confiderablc hemorrhage from the
iiofe, comfdained of Kbme hunior
fuddenly rifing from his right hand
to the top of his (houldefr, and
then fell fenfelefs on the ground.
Upon his recovery from the fit, he
felt fa great a liumbnefs in that
■hand, that he could not fHr his
fingers : and his right arm was vi-
olently tofled forward and back-
ward, againfl his will, for the
ipacc of four minutes ; during
which time he loft the ufe pf his
tongue. And this diforder return-
ed periodically twice every year,
in March and September^ that is
at the new moon, near the vernal
and autumnal equinoxes. Thef
moft remarkable particulars of thisi
cafe were thefe. Firft, the pa-'
roxyfm came on more frequently*

• if*

. m

iipOH human bodies i 4^

iii the night, than in the day time*
Secondly, neither his feet, nor left
arm, were ever afFedtcd by th^
difordei'. T^hirdly, the ftupor,
which conftaritly ir^maiiied finc^
. the firft feizure of the diforder^
did never after deprive him of his
fenfes : for he could walk or ride^
even when it was at the worft*
Fourthly, while the humor was
moving up his hand^ he could ftill
ufe his fingets: but when it had
got up to the arm, then were they
deprived of feeling and motion:
afterwards upon its feiziflg the"
right fide of the head> it oceafion-
ed violent convulfive motions of
the arm for three or four mitintes^
Fifthly, at thoie times when the'
fit was wont to return, he was
fomctimes feized with the numb-
iiefs twice or thrice in an hour ;
at other times not above once int
,iW0 ^r thr«e days. Sixthly, thd

I

42 Influence of fun and moon

difeafe wats augmeijtcd by warm
bathing : for after it, the parox-
yfins Were more violent than ufua]«
Laftly, his memory was remarka-
bly affed^ about the time of the
paroxyfm.

The fame gentleman informed
me likewife, that he knew feve-
tal women, who were fubjed to
epileptic fymptoms at the new and
full moon; efpecially pregnariC
Women, and thofc who ftop'd
thilding early, and whofe men-
fl:rual purgations left them befort
the ufual time. Thefe were fre-
quently fcized by the fit, in their
iueep, and fometimes in the day
"time alfo. And he Teraember*d to
have cured two young women,
whofe fits followed the change of
the moon ; but they were of that
kind of epileptic fits, which are
commonly' called St. Vitm\ dance ^

' Their

upon human bodies. 43

TTheir geftures were very odd and
lAcertain, and fomewhat like danc-
ing: and they were deprived of
fpeech, during the paroxyfm. In
fine, other phyficians had tried in
vain to cure thefe diforders by aS/-
denhams method [x\ for want of
attending to their monthly peri-
odical returns*

But no ^eater confent in fuch
cafes was perhaps ever obferved,
than what I faw many years fincc
in a child about five years old ; in
which the cohvulfions were fb
ftrong and frecjuent, that life was
almoft .defpaired of> and by eva-
cuations and other medicines very
difficultly faved. The girl, who
was of a lufty full habit of body,
continued well for a few days ;
but wa at full moon again feized
with a moft violent fit: after

I 2 which,

(^} In Scbedula mQftttoria.

44 lnfl.uMC£ of fun and moon

which, the difeafe kept its periocU
rot^ftant and regular with the tides,
phc lay always Tpcechlefs during
the whole time qr flood, ^nd re-
covered upon the ebb. The fa-
ther, \vho lived by the Thames:
iide, and did bufinefs upon the ri-
ver, obfef ved thef?; returns to be fo
pundual; that not only coming
Iiome, • he knew how the child was
before he Taw it, but in the night
has rifen to, his employ ; being
warned by her cries, when comiuj^
out of the fit, of the turning o]
the water. This continued four-»
teen d^ys, that is, to the next great
change of the inoonj and then a
dry fcab on the crown of the head,
(the effed: of an cpifpaflic plaifter,
with which I had covered the whole

< It

Occiput in the beginning of the
iHnefs) broke ;. and from the fore,
tho' there had been no fenfible
^ifcharge this way for above a fortr

nigh^n

upon human bodies. 4^

night, ran a confiderable quantity
of limpid fenim. Upon which,
the fits returning no more, I took
great care to promote this new e-
vacuation by proper applications,
with dcfired fuccefs, for fomc titncj
and when it ceafed, befides three
or four purges with mercurius
dulciSf &c. diredted to be taken a-
bout the new and fiill of the moon,
I ordered an iflue in the neck,
whiqh being thought troublefome,
was made in the arm. The pati-
ent however grew up to woman's
eftate, without ever after feeling
^ny attacks of thofe frightful fymp-.
toms.

Whether or no it be through
want of due heed and inquiry, that
we have not, in all the collcdions
of hiftories and cafes, any inftance
pf the like nature {o particular as
^Iiis isj I will not take upon me to

afTert j

46 Injluence of fun and moon

aflert : but to me it feems proba-
ble^ that when due attention fhall
be given to thefe caufes, various
examples will occur of the fame
kind of fympathy. In the mean
time I cannot think it ilrange, that
fome of the ancients, as Aretesus
has recorded [y\ attributed this
difeaie entirely to the moon ; and
wefe of opinion, that the deity <^
that planet infli<^ed this kind of
punifhment on wicked people for
their crimes, and thereiore called
it ^Q f acred difeafe.

And it may not be improper to
remark in this place, that the rav-
ing fits of mad people, which keep
lunar periods, are generally ac-
companied with epileptic fymp-
toms ; which was attefted to me as
a conAant obfervation by the lat^e
learned dri Tyfon^ formerly phyfi-

ciaa

upifi human hodie$i 47

clan to Bethleem hofpital, who up-
on that account ufually called fuch
patients epileptic mad»

The vertigo b nearly f elated to
the epilepfy according to Galen (%)^
and therefore it was by the anci--
ents called the liule epHepJ^, an
■Ceelius Autelianus relates (a;). This
at leaft is certain, that both thefe
difeafes arc frequently obferved to
obey the lunar influence : wMck
is confirmed by feveral cafes, that
-fell under the obfervation of dr.
-Pitcairne.

Hyfierical difordefs do likewife
partake of the fame nature; and
therefore a juft regard to thofe pe-
riods will Contribute to hap|Her fuc-
cefs in the- cure. One oi Pitcarrn^n
cafes is that of a young married wo*
man, of. a fat habit of body, and

red-

ts:) B aph0: t^ppoc. | {a) De morh. ebro»,
o^tMtmtnt, iu. opb. ij. \lih,L cap. a.

4.8 tnfluenU of fun and niooti

ted-haired, who never had hef
tnoiithly evacuations in a proper
quantity. She had for four yeari
paft complained of a troublefbme
weight or preffure on the crown of
the head, and of a cold humor at
the fame time trickling down to
her fhoulders, with great giddi*
tiefs and choaking : ihe alio threw
up a iharp ilimy humor from off
her flconach, had a pain and
fqueezing about her heart, with*
difficulty of breathing in the morn*
ing at uprifing ; and thefe fymp-^
toms returned conftantly every neW
and full moon.

Carolus Pifo^ an accurate writef
of medical obferrations, relatos
two cafes to this purpofe ; the fir^
of a lady of quality, whofe left
cheek and fart of the ne,ck wer4
wont to fwell very fenfibly^ about
thg new moon j and tjbis fymftoni

upon hunian bodieL 4§;

^as conjiafttly attended with art
hyfterical fuffocation (b)^- The Se-
cond was of a girl, nsiho^ about
each full moon of thefpring feafoH^
was feif^ed with fueh objlinate hyjie^
rhal fymptomsy that they continued
the whole third quarter i The firp
day Jhe was, convulfed^ then (he wai
feized with a lofs of fpeech^ and
fell into a deep jleepy which lajled
1^0 days i and the f-efHaining fout
days Jhe fpent in doing infignificanf
things^ crying but for help^ or iH
Jhoft in a flight delirium^ i^ithout
a "Wink of Jleep (c).

Physicians have recorded fc-
Veral remarkable inftandes of pe-^
riodical paljies. The fame Pifi
gives the following. Aiix aged
man was feizjed with a fleepinefs
and great laflitudei which was fol^^

K lowed

(h) t>e morhis a fero- j {c) Ohf. aSi

jo Influence of fun and moon

lowed by a dead palfy, ftupor, Ion
of memory, and fome degree of
foUyj with a fever. Thefe com-'
plaints returned regularly every
new moon for two years j thefymp^
toms gradually lejfeningy and the
laft fits had but a faint refemblanee
with thofe^ befujjered in the be-^
gining (d),

Tulpius^ a very candid and ju-
dicious writer, relates a. finguiar
cafe of a Hiaking palfy, with
which a maiden of a p^e com*^
ple^ion, and phlegmatic habit of
body, was ,affli6ted during the
fpace of three years, not conftantly
indeed, but with intermiflions ;
each fit lafting near two hours, ac-
companied with a hoarfenefs and
fuppreflion of voice. The parox'
yfms manifeflly agreed^ fometimes
"With the tideSy fometimef with the

moon^

upon human hpdies, 5 1

moon^ andfometimes imtb the fun :
for according to the change of
thefey the returns were fometimes
earlier^ fometimes later [e).

The ancients obferved, and c-
very one knows, how great a iliare
the moon has in forwarding thofe
evacuations of the weaker fex,
which have their name from the
conftant regularity they keep in
their returns. And there is no
queilion to be made, but the cor-
lefjwndency, which we here ob-
ierve, would be greater ftill, and
even univcrfal : did not the inii-
nite varieties in particular confti-
tudons, climates, manner of life,
and many accidents, one way or
other concur to make a difference.
It is very obfervable, that in coun-
tries neareft to the equator^ where
we have proved the lunar adion

K 2 to

15 3 Influence of fun and fhoon

to be ftrongefc, thcfe monthly fe-.
eretions arc in much greater quan-»
tity, than in thofe near the poles,
where this force is weakeft. This
Hippocrates (f) takes notice of,
with refpeft to places far north,
&nd gives it as one reafon, why
the women in Scythia are not very
fi-uitful.

The cafe being thus with fe-
piales, it is no wonder, if we
fometimes meet with periodical-
hemorrhages answering to the
times of the moon in males alfo.-
For as a greater quantity of blood, ■
in proportion to the bulk in one
(ex, is the reafon of its difcharging
ftfclf through proper du^s, at
pertain intervals, when the preffure •
of the external air being dimi^
nifhed, the internal aura can ex-r
ert its ^lafticity j fo in the other y

if

upon human bodies, 5 3

if at any time there happens to be
a iiiperabundancy of the fame
fluid, together with a weak tone
of the fibres; it is plain that the
veflels will be moft eafily burft,
when the reliftance of the atmo-
iphere is leaft. And this more e-
fpecially, if any accidental hurt, or
rarefying force has firft given oc-
cadon to tihe other caufes to take
cffea.

I HAVE known a young gentle-
man of a tender frame of body,
but otherwife healthy, who having
©nee, by over-reaching, drained
the parts about the breaft, fell
thereupon into a fpitting of blood ;
which for a year and half con-
ftantly returned every new moon,
and decreafing gradually, continu-
ed, always four or five days : the
fits being more or lefs confidcrable,
^cording as his management abbut

a that

"^ ^ ■* ^^M

I

1

54 Influence of fun and mtm

that time contributed to a gteater
or Iciler fullnefs of the veilels.

Doctor Pitcatrne% own cafe is
remarkable, both in regard to the
difeafe and its concomitant circum-
fiances. In the year 1687. being
at a country feat near Edinhurgb
in February^ on a fairer day than
ufual at that feaibn, and the fun
looking reddifh ; he was feized, at
nine in the morning, the very hour
of the new moon, with a fudden
bleeding at the nofe, after an un-
common faintnefs. And the next
day en his return to town, he fpund
that the barometer was Iowa* at
that very hour^ than either he, oc
his friend dr. Gregory y who kept
the journal of the weather, had e-
ver obferved' it ; and that another
friend of his, mr. Cocldfurny pro^
fei&r of philo£)phy, had died fud«
dcnly at the iine hour by an ,e-

roptiaa

upon human helm, 55

tttptioti of blood from the lungs J
and alfo five or fix others of hii
patients were feized with difierent
hemorrhages.

We have two notable inftanccs
dp the like nature in our Philojh-
phtccd ttanfoBions ; the cme related
by dr. Muf grave {£) of a peribn^
who, from his infancy to the twen^
ty-fourth year <tf his age, had cire-
ry full moon an eruption of blood
oti the right fide of the nail of hk
left thumb; at firft to three oc
four ounces, and after his fixteemh
year, to half a pound each time |
which when, by fearing the part
with a hot iron, it flopped, he feA
into a fpitting of blood, and \sf
frequ^it Heeding, *6sff. wai vei^
difficultly faved from a ccmfumpti^
on. The other {h) is a flory of sm
inn-keeper in Ireland^ who ixoak

die

56 Influence of fun and moon

the forty-third yej^r of his life, to
the fifty-fifth (in which it killed
him) iufiered ^ periodical evacua^
don at the point of the fore-finger
of his right-hand ; and whenever
they endeavoured to ftanch the
blood) it raifed moil exquifite tor^
tures in his arm. And altho* the
fits here kept not their returns fo
certain as in the forementbned
cafe, (it may be either from the ir-
regular way of living of the pati-
ent, or the mighty change evety
elfufion made in his habit of bo*
dy, the quantity feldom amount-*
ing to lefs than four pounds at a
time) yet there is this remarkable
circumftance in the relation^ that
the firft appearance of this hemor-
rhage was atEafter, that is, the
next full moon ?^ttT the vernal
equinox : which is one of the two
^albos of the year, at which w'e

have

iipda humati ioJieh ^f

Have proved the attradion of th«
air^ or diminution of its preffurcj
to be greater than at any othcf
time whatfoever.

BiJT we are befidcs this to fc'bil*
lider, that the ftatic chair, and
niee obfervation taught SanEiorius^
(i) that men do increafe & pound of*
two in their 'weight evefy months
.which overplus is difdharged at th€
tnonih^s endy by a crifis of Copious^
or thick turbid urine» It is not
therefore at all, ftrange, that wd
fhould oilce d month bfc liable to
the returns of fuch diftempei'S, dS
depend upon a fuUriefs df the vef-*
fcls ; that thefe fliould take f)kc«i
at thofe times efpecially, whefi the
ambient air i^ leail able to reprefii
the turgency ; arid that thd' iieW
and fiill niooii afe both of cqud
force, yet that fometimes drte, and

*

58 Influence of fun and moon

fomedmes the othct only ihoulJ
influence the periods, according as
this or that happens to faU in with
the inward repletion.

Th£ Fluor albus is 'a difeale
equally common and . difficult of
cure. Of this difeafe dr. Piteaime
has obferved a cafe, which lafted
four years: wherein- the returns
came regulacly at every new mtocoi,
and the difcharge conftantfy la^ed
eight days. / • ,

Ulcers . are liable to vai"ious ac-
cident§, which render foijie of
them of incertain prognoftic : and
yet even in thefe the afflux of hu-
mors is fometimes manifeftly altar-
ed by this power. Baglivi {k) vfas
acquainted with a learned young
man at Rome^ who laboured under
iififlula in t\iz abdomeny penetrat-

{k) Df ticperiment. drea fanguiif. Opfrtm pag.

M9'

ufton^ human hodses: 59

ing to the colon j which diicharged
fo plentifully in the increafe, and
ib fparingly in" the decreafe of the
moon, that he could niakc a very
true judgment of the periods arid
quadratures of that planet, from
the different quantity of the mat-
ter that came from him. This
ren)irids me of the cafe of a young
man, who after impure coition firft
felt a pain in his back, and a
weaknefs and liftleflncfs to walk in
his thighs for four days. After
this, appeared" an ulcer in ^q giant
j>emsj >vhich ran with fetid mat-
terl This fliix ftop'd fpontane-
pufly in. about a week ; but re-
turned next hew moon, and con-
tinned fo to" flop, and return for
fomc months; till he was put into
a proper courfe of medicine,
whereby he was perfedtly cured,

I -

La Nefhrw

^9 Jnjlugnce ef fun and moon.

Nephritic parpxyfms hav<3
frequently been pbferved to pbcy
the lunai: attradipn, Tfi^pius (l)
relates the ^aie of mr. Henry
/Unfworth, an ^nglifi minifter at
^mjierd^my who had a fit of th^
gravel and fuppr?fl*ion of virile c-^
very full moon \ of which he found
HP relief till the n^ooQ dccreafed,
V^lefs by bleeding at th? arm. Af-
t^ his death two large ftone§ wer^
takep out pf his bladder, and th^
felvh pf the left kidney was en^
|arged to that degree by the quanr*
tity pf ufinc fo pften ftpp'd tlierc,
^s tP contain almoft as much as the
t)ladd^ itfelf. He likewife faw z^
fa(b of a capiUorum miBus, which
^returned periqdically fvery fort-s
flight, with great difficulty of u-:
fine, and fuch uneafinefe in the

patic^-si

upon human hodiet, 6i

patient's body, that lie could
Scarcely ke^ in bed (/»). .

There is a fad almofi: contrary
to thcfe related by T, Bartholin ;
who being called to a confultation
pn the cafe of Af « Bullichius^ th^
chief magiftrate of Copenhagen^
found that for fbme years paft he
had beeti afHided with a periodical
(iiabetes fpuria^ which returned e-
very month with pain after a fevere
nephritic fit, at or near the full
moon^ when he made twelve
quarts or twenty-four pounds of
W4ter, though he had not drank a
pmt (»).

I WAS prefent, many years
/ince, at the diiIc<^on of a child
about five years old, who died ^ of
the fi^ueht returns of nephritic

fits,

(ffi) Ibid. cap. 5a. I pbilcf. Hafrticns. V9L )n
In) 4(ia medif. ^t \ Ohf. §♦

• \

, ^ % Influence of fun and moon

fits, attended with vomiting, and a

diarrhoea, T^hs kidneys and uie"
ters were quite ftufFed with % fli>
jny calculous matter, and it Was
Tcty inftru<3ive ta fee the different
degree? of concretion in the feyera!
parts of it, frofn a clear JUmpid
water ta a milky liquor, which
(hot into branchy cryftals, and
thefe coaJefcing became a hard, fti*
able fubfbince. Dr.. Groenvelty who
had attended the- boy 'm, his illnefs,
obferVcd him to be feized with his
pains at every, full moon for feve-
ral months together, which gene-
rally ended with the voiding of a
, imall flone or two.

. To thefe nephritic cales I fliall

add ohe more, which fcU under

my own notice. A young lady,

fourteen years of age, of a good

' tompledtion, was from her infancy

afili^kd with thii odd diford^r^ A

a day

upon human Bodies, i\.

day cir two Dcfore the fufl mooti
ifjae waxed pale, Weak, dcjeded
find mclaiicltoly j and then unwit*
tingly difcharged a large <juahtity
of urine in her fleep. And this
difchar-ge continued five or fix
nights together 1 after which if*
ceafed, and then her colour and
chearful temper returned. The
beft ftrengthening medicines Were
of no avail, until proper evacuati*
ons were thought of and made
two or three days before the re-
turn of the paroxyifm : which pre-*
vented the lunar influence.

That the fits of the ajlhma
are frequently periodical, and un-
der the influence of the moon,
and alfo of the weather. Fan
Helmont takes notice from his own
experience (<?). And fir John Floyery
who has given us a more particular

hiflory

r

6^ > tnfiuence of fuH and moofi

hiftory of this diieafe thah any othdf
author, obierves, that the fits ufuallf
return once in a fortnight^ andfre^
fuentfy happen near the change of
the moon {p)*

A mor£ ttnCommoh tSe& of
thi& dttradiVe poWer is related hf
the learAed J^irckrsngius. He
knew a young gentlewoman, whofe
beauty depended upon the lunar
force, infbmuch that dt fbll mooii
(he Was pltuiip and Vety handibme ;
but in the deCreafe of the planet
lb Wdn and ill-faVoufed, that iht
was aihlm*d to go abroad; till the
return of the new moon gradually
gave fullnefs to her face, and at^^
tradion to her charms [q). If this
^ems ftrange, it is indeed no more
than an influence of the fame
kind with that, which the mpon

has

(p) ICreatife of the \ (q) Obferwt. <inatp*
iffiima^ p. 17. j mic. 9*

upon human hodieu 6 j

kas always been obferved to have
upon fhell-fiih, and, f<^me other
Jiving features. For as the old
fjatin poet Luciliui fays i

»

' LuHa alit ofirea^ 6t impht #-

cbinoiy mufibu fibrat
Bt pkui addit ^-^ (r)

And after him ManiUus t

Si fubmerfa fretU^ Gombaritm

et carcere claufa^
Ad lund iitotum 'Oafiant ani^

malia corpus (i).

Tjtii knowledge of cri/es in tf-
eute difeafes is attended with great
difficulties: wherefore it may be
Very well Worth the pains to in-»
quire, what {hare (uch an altera^
tion in the Weight and prefTiire of
the atmofphere may have in them«

M The

(t) Apud A. Gclli- I (i) Srttnmic. lik
Um, Ith. XX. c. t. I H. verf. 93.

66 Influence of fun and moon

The ancients made great account
of critical days, and regulated
their prafticein fevers according to
the expedation they had from
them; This part of phyfic is
grown now into difufe, quite
flighted, and even ridiculed ; . and
that I fuppofe chiefly for thefe two
reafons. For in the firft place,
the earlieft obfcrvations of this

«

kind, which were drawn into rules,
being made in hot eaftern coun-
tries ; when thefe came to be ap-
plied to the diftempers of the
colder northern regions, without
aliowance given for the difference
of the climate, they were often-
times found not to anfwer. And
fccondly, fevers of old were treated
with few medicines, and chiefly
managed by very flender diet : the
motions of nature were carefully
watched, and no violence offered
to interrupt her work. , The hifto-

3 rics

upon human bodies. 67

lies therefore of crifes, though of
great ufe and certainty under fuch
management as this, were at length'
unavoidably fet afide and loft ;
when acute cafes came to be cured,
according to this or that hypothe-
sis, not only by evacuations, but
hot or cold alteratives too : there
being no longer any room for thofe
laws of pradice, which fuppofed
a regular and uniform progrefs of
the diftemper.

Wherefore, in order to under-
ftand a little, both what might in-
duce the firft matters of our pro-
feilion to fb nice and ftridl an ob*
fervance in this point; and what
grounds there may be now, for a
more due regard to their precepts,
even . upon the fcore of the lunar
attradion only ; I ' propofe a few
remarks, after having premifed

M 2 fome

6t Jnfluenea of fun and moon

fomc things proper to be known on-
iEis fubjedt.

■

If is mod certain, that gpide^
ink f^ers arc caufcd by foiiiQ
noxious qualities oi our atmo^
fphere J and therefore it feems'rea-
ibnable to fuppofe> that Juch
changes gs produce thofe effe<9ta
may iiappcn in it in all feafons by
the influence of the moon. And
this is confirmed by Rama^s^ini m

his treatife of the epidemic confti-'

tution of the years 1693, 1693,

and 1694. in the city and neigh"

bourhood of Moi^^n^' During
thefe three years a very contagious
purple fever reigned. And />
V^as worthy of ohfirvatnn^ fays hcj
%hat the difeafe raged ntore violently
eifter the full modn^ and efpecialljt
in tie dark quarter 5 (tnd abated
^fon the appearance ef the new
i {iS.mf ^np /, ifut other

^hyjicjam

■^OLE

ujibn human hodih, 60

fbyficiahs btre^ conftahtly obfervedi
and this oBfervdtion was of great
fervke both in the frognoftic and
cure (i)*.

'Tis well knoWn, that in folai:
eclipies the moon is in conjuildion
with the fun, and in oppoiltion in '
lunar cclipfes : wherefore there is
nothing iuange in what this fame
author wonders at in thefe words.
What happened January 21, 1693,
was very furprizing. For the moon
having bet^t ecUpfed that nighty the
greatefi part of the Jick died about
the very hour of the eclipfe : and
fome were even firuck with fuddden '
death (u). And the learned Bal-'
lonius relates a fadl of the fame
iiaturc, where he fays, that fome
phyiicians having met oh the
cafe of a lady oi q uality j while

they

(/) "De conjtit. aim. j \to.fag. 97.
1652-3-4. Ai»/W. 1695, j («) lbid.$agy 9?,

yo Jnjluetiee of fun and moon

they were actually in consulta-
tion, a fblar eclipfe was at hand.
Wherefore, as they thought the
patioit in no inuninent danger,
they went out to view the e-
chpfe : but they were ibon
called back, upon the lady's
fainting away, the very inftant
it began. And (he did not reco-
ver her {enfes, till the eclipfe was
quite over (w).

If phyficians had formerly been
acquainted with /what I have laid
down on the moon's influence, t
make no doubt but a much greater
number of fadls of this kind would
occur in the hiftories of epidemic
dileafes, than we find recorded at
prefent. To thpfe already menti-
oned let me add one more, which
is the more interefting, upon ac-
count

(w) Efiiem^ lib. i. pag. 48.

\

upon human bodies, 7 1

count of the rubjed of it. It was
our great genius and excellent phi-
lofopher the lord high chancellor
Bacony vifcount St. Albans \ who
had diis peculiarity in his confti-
tution, that at every lunar ecUpfe
he fuddcnly fell into a fwoon ; tho'
he did not ib oiuch as think or
even know of the eclipie ; and
did not recover, till it was endeS

(4

And it is ftill frefti in the me-
mories of fome, that in that me-
morable eclipfe of the llm, which
happened April 22. 171 5> and in
which the total obfcuration lafled
here at London three minutes and
twenty three feconds, many fick
people found themfelves confidera-
bly worfe during the time : which
circumftance people generally won-
dered at, but I could eafUy account

for.

(x) See Rawlcy*j life of the right IfonowrgkU
Francis Bacon* Z.or</ Verulani, Sr.

^a tnfiuence of fun and mdoA

fas. In the morning I went wifll
dr; Halley and other aifaronomtr^
to the djferyatory on the tq> of
jthe R(^al SocUtjft houfc in Crane
Court y in order to viewr thie cclipfe|
and confider the ilate of the wea^
ther, and diangcs that mi^ht pro-
bably happen in oyr atmofohw f
and jthen the lun was very pi^ght^
and the iky remarkably ierene.
But when the edipfe became total,
the air was io uncommonly cold
and moiflj that it made iis ihiver ;
and the face of nature appeared io
extremely gloomy and difmal, that
the birds fluttered about in wild
affright, and the cattlfr in the
fields flood £xed asilatues, through
cxcefs of ai^onifhment. Whereas,
no iboner had the fun begun to e^
merge, but every creature affumed
fo chearful an afpca; that I never
iaw, nor indeed do I ever sx^Ql
to ice fo pleaftng a fight.

But

upon human hodiet* ^ 3

But to retiirn to the Tubjci^ of
fevers ; it is evident that thofe chang*
es of the aif, which afFc(5t healthy
bodies, muA have a coniiderable
eire<B: on weak eonflitutions, and
thofe labouring under acute dif*
eafes. To what has been already
faid on this head I fhall here add,
that the plague itfelf is liable to be
afFedted by the moon's aftion. For
Diemerbroeck^ who has given an
accurate defcription of the plague
at Nimeguen in the yeir 1636,
obferved, that the contagion con^
fiantly increafed about the new and
full of the moon'j and that the
greatefi fart of thofe, who were
then feizedy died (y). Much more
may be faid on this fubjedl ; but
it appears too plain, to need fur-
ther illuftration: wherefore I re*-
turn to the fubje^ of crifes.

N First,

0) De fefte^ pa^. ^*

74 Influence of fun and moon

m

First, all ^idemic difeafes do
in their regular courfe require a
dated time, in which they come
to their height, decline, and leave
the body free. , This is fo conftant
and certain, that when a fever of
any conflitution, which is conti-
nual in one fubjed, happens, from
fome other caufe, in another to be
intermitting ; the paroxyfms do aU
ways return fo .often, as all toge-
ther to make up juil as vfx&ny days
of illnefs, as he fufFers, whpfe dif-
temper goes on from begining to
end, without any abatement. Dr.
Sydenham^ a fwom enemy to all
theories, leam*d thus much from
downright obfervation ; and gives
this reaibn, why autumnal quar-
tans hold fix months : becaufe by
computation the .fits of fo long a
time amount, to 336 hours, or
1 4. days, the period of a continual

fever X

upon hitman bodies. 75

fever of the ^me feafbn (%J, So
GaUn takes notice, diat an exqui-
fite tertian is terniinated in feven
paroxyfms ; becaufe a true conti-
nual has its crifis in fciren days :
that is, the fever laAs as long in
one, as in the other ; in as much
'{{ays he) z&ajit in an intermitting
fever anfwers to a day in a conti-
nual (a). Now this fo comes to
paTs, becaufe,

Secondly, in thefe cafes there
is always a fermentation in the
blood, which goes not off, till the
a£tive particles are thrown out by
thofe organs of fecretion, which,
according to the laws of motion,
^e moil fitted to feparate them.

Thirdly, as different liquors,
put upon a ferment, are depurated

N 2 in

** (z) Method. eUranii I {a) Comment, ^in tf-
fehres Lond, i666.8w. | pbor: Hipp. lib. iv.aph.
jpag. ^100, I 59. &f de criftb. lib. it.

76 Influence of fun and moon

in diiFerenc times; fo the arterial
fluid takes up a determined peril-
ed, in which it is difcharged of an
induced ciFervefcencef

Fourthly, the fymptoms, dur-
ing this ebullition, do not proceed
all along in the ikme tenor j but, '
on fome days particularly, they
give fuch evident marks of their
good or bad quality, that the na-
ture of the enfuing folution may
very well be gueiTed at, and fore-
told by them. Things being thus,
thole days, on which the difeale
was fo evidently terminated one
way or other, were by the anci-
ents called the days of crifis ; and
thoie, upon which the tendency
pf the illnefs was difcovered by
moft vifible tokens, the indices of
the critical days,

A-ND thus far the foundation

was good ; but when a falfe theory

3 happened

ft^off human hodiei* ^t

happened unluckily to be joined tp
true obfervations, this did confide-
rably puzzle the aHair, Hipp(h'
crates y it is plain, knew not to
what to afcribe that remarkable
regularity, with which he faw,
^ that the periods of fevers were
generally ended on the fcventh,
fourteenth, or one and twentieth
day. The philofqphy of Pytha-
goras was in thofe ages very fa-
mous, of which harmony and the
myfieries of numbers made a confi-
derable part ; odd were accounted
more powerful than e^en^ 2caAfe^
ven the moft perfect of all. Our
great phyfician elpoufed thefe noH
tions, and confined the Aages of
acute diftempers to ^ifeptenary proj
grefiion [h)'. upon which this in-
convenience followed, that when
a crifis fell out on an even day,

bis

i}) Defeptimftri farm.

7^ InJUtence of fun and moon

Ills meafbres were quke brc^ett,
and he apprehended a relapfc (c) ;
and if the fever did not terminate
XXI the feventh, he waited for the
fourteenth, and even for the twen-
ty-firft day.

But virhereas the crifes of fevers
were fomctimes obferved to fall on
.the fixth or eighth day of the di{^
fafe, without any return; y^fcle-
fiades rejected thb whole dodrine
as vain {d)i and C^lfus^ finding it
to be too nice and fcrupulous, ob-
ferves, that the Pythagorean num-
bers led the ancients into the error
(e).

Galerty being aware of this, fiic-
ceeded much better in his rcafon-
ing upon the matter ; and very
happily imputed the critical chang-
es,

(c) Jpbor. feU. iv.\ . (^ Vii. alfum., Kk
3$. \ Hi. c. 4.

I ie) Ibid.

«■• "

upvn human hodiesi 79

t$, not to the power of nujtnbers^
but to the influence of the moon ;
which he obibves, has a mighty
aSiion upon our earthy exceeding
the other planet s^ not in energy y but
in nearnefs [f). So that, accord-
ing to him, the feptenary periods
in acute difeafes are owing to the
quarterly lunar phafesy which are
the times of the great eft force^ and
which return in about /even days
(g). Hence it appears, that Ga-
len hit upon the caufe of the
changes in the returns and periods
of fevers ; but did not fb much as
guefs at the manner of its produc-
ing the e£fed.

The refult of the whole affair
in ihort is this. A crijis is no
more than the Qxpulfion of the
morbific matter out of the body,

through

(f) Z)< tUths iecrt-
ttr. Hi. Hi,

(i)m

<Bo Influence of fun and mom

through fome or other of the fe-
crctpry orguis ; in order to which,
it is neceS^ that this fhould be
prepared and comminuted to fuch
a degree, as is required to make it
pafs into the orifices of the refpec-
tive glands. And therefore, as the
moft pcrfeA crifis is by fweat,
(both by reafon that the fubcutane-
ous glands do naturally difcharge
more than all the others put tc^-
ther ; and alfo that their duds be-
ing the fmallcft of any, whatfoc-
vcr comes this way is certainly ve-
ry well divided and broken) fb the
moft imperfed is a hemorrhage:
becaufe this is an argument, that
what offends is not fit to be caft off
in any part, and confequently
breaks the vefTels by the efferver-
cence of the blood. An abfcefs
in thofe organs, which feparatc
thick flimy juices, is of a middle
nature betwixt thefe two.

Now

apart hutnan bodiei* di

KoW it is ver)r pldn, that if
the time, in which either the pec-
cant humor is prepared For fecre-
tion, or the fermentation of the
blood {% come to its height, falls
in with thofe changes in the at-
molpherc, which dimiriifli its pref-
uirc at the new and full moon j
the crifis will then be niore com-
pleat ^nd large : and alfo, that
this work may be forwarded or
delayed a day, upon the account
of fuch an alteration in the air ;
the diftenfion of the veflels, upon
which it depends, being hereby
made niore eafy, arid a weak ha-
bit of body in ibme caies itanding
in need of this outward aflK^ance^
Thus a fever, which requires about
fL week to it^ periodj may fome-
times hare a good crifis on the
iixth^ and jCbmetirneiSf not till the

O * eighth

' 8 2 Influence of fun and moon

eighth day, as Hippocrates has
obferved.

In order therefore to make true
obfervations of this kind, the time
of invafion is to be cbnfidered ;
the genuine courfe of the diftcm-
pcr muft next be watched, which
k not to be interrupted by any vi-
olent methods; the ftrength of
nature in the patient is to be at-
tended to, and by what fecretion?
the crifis is moft likely to be per-
formed : and it will then be found,
that not only the new and full
moons, but even the fouthings,
whether villble or latent, of the
planet, are here of conliderablc
moment.

To Conclude, this powcrftilt
action of the moon is obferved not
only by philofophersand natural
Kiftorians, but even by the com-

moiL

upon human bodies. 83

mon people, who have been fully
perfwMed of it time out of mind.
Pliny relates, that Arijiotle laid it
down as an aphorifm : that no ani~
mal dies but in the ebb of the tide
\h). And that births and deaths
chiefly happen about the new and
full moon, is an axiom even among
women. The hufband-men like-
wife are regulated by the moon iii
planting and managing trees, and
Icveral other of their occupation;;.
So great is the empire of the moon
over the terraqueous globe.

{b) Hifi*nat. Ub. it: cap. 98.

.*_ ..*.. JfL

rrr?iar?irtr:

t ..

Oa CHA?,

84. Influence of fun and moon

CHAP. III.

Of the benefits accruing tq the proQ^
tice of phy fie from this theory.

IT is now time to inquire, what
ufe may be made of thefe ob-
fervations in ^radice. And firft,
they muft be of fervice in prcdid-
ing the returns of the paroxyfms,
and the iflbe of the difeafe ; which
^11 gain reputation to the phyfi-
ciaq, and give confidence to (he
patient. But I will endeavour to
fliew, that they will be of greater
^rvice ftill, in contributing ten
wards the owe of difeafes. In or-
der to which I will firft lg.y dowa
fome general remarks, and then
defcend to particulars.

i^ms pret^ evident^ that
ill diifeaies, whole returns apfwer

itpon human bodies, 85

to the changes of the moon, arife
jfrofti repletion. For as the moon's
adion produces its efFe£t bjr diC-
tending the veffels only ; it is ma-
nifeft, that plenitude alone can
increafe.this diftcnfion, whether it
happen by the quantity of the
fluids, or their cffervefcence. And
therefore all difeaies, which return
but once or twice in a month, and
arc incr^ed by the moon's influ^
ence, require, evacuations: which
mufl diminifli at leaft, if not cure
the difeale. Byt as regard is to be
had to the nature of the diftem-
per, and the time and manner of
the evacuation ; it is neceflary to
eftabHfli fome rules on each of

^ . ■ ■ • • * •

thefe heads.

First then, we are to confi"
det, whether tie difeafc lies in the
blood-'Veffelsj or in the vicioiis

quality

86 Influence $ffim and mpon

^quality of the fluids feparated itoxTL
' the blood, and conveyed to fbnie
principal part of the body. In
die firft cafe we fhould lay the
greateft ftrefs on phlebotomy ; , in
the fecond, on proper medicines
for corre«9ting the taint of the
fluids. Befides, as we kiiow by
experience, that evacuations are to
be made by the way, which nature
points out; great attention mull
be given to finding out that way
in every particular difeafe. Then
the beft time for evacuating is in
moft cafes a little before the parox-
yfm or exacerbation : not only be-
caufe its violence is thereby obvi-
ated, but, likewife becaufe the hu-
mors then turgid will flow out of
the body with more eafe, and in
greater plenty. And in order to
make this matter better undcrfl:ood,
I will add fome few practical

remarks

upon human Bodies, ty

yemarks on die difeafes mentioned
HI the foregoing chapter.

The epikpjy is extremely dim-
cult to be cured in adults, but in
children it is the reverfe. And that
evacuations, e^cially by a blifler
laid to the back part of the head,
are of great ufe here, is plain
from a cafe above related (i) ;
which not only confirms the alier-
tion of Panarqlus^ who fays, that
he cured a hoy of /even years of
agty who had been fpeechlefs^fiupid^
and epileptic^ hy a blifler applied
to the coronal future {K) ; but proves
the goodnefs of Celfus\ advice, tg
apply cupping glajfes with fcarifi-
cation to the occiput', and bejides to
apply the a&ual cautery in two
placeSy one in the occiput, and th$
other lower dowH in the neck upon

the

$8 influence of fun and m9oH

tbefif'fl vertebra ; in order to bavi
a phntifull drain of the noxious
humor (/). For the head is the
chief feat of difeaies of (his
kind: fi'equently^ occafion^d in
children by plenitude, and the
lentor of the blood, which has
not beeii comminuted by bodily
exercife, oi* the a^on of the lungs $
and in adults by a redundancy t}f
humors,> falls, or fudden frights.
In this obfHnate difeafe the moft
proper medicines for correcting the
juices, feem to be native cinnabar ^
and more efpecially ibild valerian
rooty before it has (hot out its
ftalk ; pulverized, and given fre-
quently in a due quantity. For
my part, I have feveral times found
them both very fuccefsfuU ; and for
the virtues of the laft, I particu*
larly recommend the reader to

Pana^

(/) Uh. iii» cap. 2^4

^Poh human hodiesi S9

Pamrotus (mjy and the famous
botenifl FabiUs Columna (n), How-
ievcr it mnft not be forgot, that this
diieafe oWes it origin to fo many
difFerent . caufes, and is bred in fo
many diiiercnt cotiftitutions of bo-
dy ; that the fame remedy, which
fucceeds in one cafe, often fails in
another: and therefore diiFerent
inedieines are to be tried, eipeci-
ally on adults. And great regard-
mufl be had to the times, in which
the paroxylms mollx ufually retuni;^
in order to effed a cure.

'V^t vertigo is likewiife cured
by thefe fame medidincs. But the
patient muft be vomited now and
then, and bliftcred on the head or
neck« This is a difeafe of the
eyes, and generally ariies from too
great teniion of the extremities of

P the

(m) Ohf^mi.pttt. 1. 1 (n) Pfyttfas. f,
ehf j3« J. xa94

»

^ Influence of fun am moofi

,the {mail arteries, as Bellini has
demonftrated : wherefore it is no
wonder, if it ihould follow the

; changes of the moon.

Hyfterical diforders are cured
much in the fame manner. But
they feldom require bleeding, and
•purging fhould be ufcd with cau-
tion. Emetics are of greater fer-
vice, e^)ecially a little before the
fit. For in the fit the beft medi-;
cines are thofe, which repair the
lois of fpirits, as gum ammoniac^
Ruffian cafior^ fait of amber y inpils,
and the like. And in moft of
thofe cafes, care mufl be taken to
adapt the medicines to the ufual
way of living of the patient, and
to the afFedions of her mind.

I

The monthly returns of para-
lytic difordersn which are fome*
times obferved, are owing to the
fource of the difeafe, which is ge-

j , ncrally

upon human hddies, 91

fierally the head: in which the
ferofities of the brain being extra-
vaiated, attack the origin of thofe
nerves, where they happen to lodge,
and caufe a palfy of this or that
part. Hence it is, that this dif-
cafe is very often the confequencc
of an apoplexy, under the fliapc
of a general palfy, or that of
one fide only. But when this dif-
order is oceafioned by an external
injury done to the nerves, or by
internal tumors, then it obferves
no regular periods. The cure i«
to be begun by evacuating the re-
dundant phlegm, which in moft
cafes is bcft done by ftool ; and
then an eye muft be had to the re>r
turn of the diftemper, not only
by putting the patient into a courfe
of attenuating medicines, as the
borfe radijh rooty wild valerian
rooty mufiard feedy and fuch like ;
but alfb of cold bathing, if

P a W»

92 Infltance of fun and moon

his age and ftrcngth will allow it :
for this remedy is not To benef!cia](
for old folks, as for young; buta^
it braces up the relaxed fibres, and
promotes urine, it is proper io^
this difeafe in both tbefe rpfpefts.
for this reafon the ancients, ac-
cording to Caelius Aurelianus (o),
ordered their paralytic patients tq
fwim in the iea, or to undergq
the catara^ical courfe, |>y thp falj
of water from on hi^ o;i liic
weak parts; on account of the
greater weight of fait tha^ frefl^
water, and the more intenfe cold of
falling than uill water.

St. Vitus ^ dance is generally,
called a convulfivc difordtr ; but I
look on it to be rather paralytic^
and to take its rife from a reiaxa-
tion of the toufcles, which being
Unable to perform their fiuiiftions

in

4 . L

!(fi) Dtmcri. chrpifu. Hi. it. tap. i.

■/ .

itp9» human h4iei* 93

ill caving thfs limbs, (hake theni
irregularly by jir^s. And it i$ fo|r
the rnqft part but a flight evil, aB4
commonly feiz/ss weak habit$
of body; girjs more frequently
(han boys, and feldom adults.
Whprefore I pever found it diiE-
cult to be cured by the cold bath
and chalybeate medicines.

The difordcrs of the w^»/i5^ ^-^
vacuations of the fair fex require^
bur ferious confideration. As the
pccefs of them generally proceed^
from an acrimony in the blood,
fo the defeft is chiefly owing to ^
lentor. For this flux is ieIdoa\
iiipprefled for want of a fuflicien^
quantity of blood : fuch wonder-
full art has the all- wife author of
nature empjby'd in making full
provifion for an evacuation, equally
f equifite for the health of the indir
l^dual) ^nd |he propagation of

• human

94 Influence of fun and moon

liuman kmd. Wherefore, as in
Immoderate difcharges r^ard fliould
jbe had to the times, when the ef-
fenre(cent humor can the more ea-^
fily burft thro' its veflels, accord-
ing to the do<Etnne aheady laid
down $ in order to make a revul-
fion at thofe times, by drawing
blood from parts the raofl: diftant
from the feat of the diftempcr ; fo
when a fupprefHon of the menfe^
requires bloocj-lctting, Vander Lin-
den ^ caution is to b? pbferved,
which is recommended by Etmul-r
hr {p)i and rationally accounted
for by dr. Freind [q). Moreover,
as the Peruvian bsirk is vefy power-
full in allaying the ejffervefcence of
the blood, whereby the veflels are
diftended ; it will be very proper
|o give it plentifully fome few

days

/
\

{p) Tm. Hi. pag. I {q) EmmenMlfig.pag.:
442. fdit, I y 36. I 103.

. upon human bodies* §j

days before the time, that too great
a difcharge is apprehended.

The fame method is to be ob*-
ferved in all periodical hemorrhages^
giving thofe medicmes at the &me
time, which reftringc and brace
up the fibres : of which the beft
are hurnt alum, with a fourth
part of fanguis draconis, as I have
found by repeated trials.

And it is worthy of remalrk,
that lb great is the moon's influ*-
ence in cafes of this nature, that
upon the fuppreflion of thefe eva-
cuatiotis from one part, the blood
forces its way through jbme other
part : which was the cafe of the
young gentleman, mentioned a-
bovc (r). For when his fpitting c^
blood was ftop'd by the medicines
juft tiovf recited, he was at the

fame

§6 infiuince of fun aha mboH

lame ^ted times feized Witn si
bleeding at the nofe, which gave
jne niD apprehef^cms, as the |ttin*
cipai CMTgan was no longer, afie^edi

• • • ,

A ji D tnis ddipti bf the inObn ez^
tends even tothofe quadrupeds, thit
dre nienflruated : For it has beeh
ftbferVed, that they jgeherally havfc
thofe evacuations about the ne^t^
siooii: iA particular inares and
tnmikeySi ahd that io clonfiantly^
.that, atcorditig to the teftimotijr
t)f Hofus Apolhy the Eg^yptjiam
painted the Cynoeephaius to repre^
fent the moon^ upon account of:a
certain fytnpath^^ thereby the fe-
male of this animal hai evacuati-
ons of blood from the uterus at thd
itew and fuU moon: and they kept
monkeys in tbeit* temples, in ordei^
to point out the timet, of the cqu-
Jun^ion of the fun and moon (s).

Where-*

(0 Hiiroglypkii vidi Gcfner. di Siiniii.

upon human Bodies. 97

Wherefore the moon's influence is
Apparent in all animals; provided
irregularities in their way of living
d» hot prevent it.

And this theory accounts for
thepa-iodical returns of th^fluor
ulbus^ which are fometimes pb-
feryed, especially if the difcharge
be from the uterine veflels : for it
iiTues {bmetimes from thefe, and
fometimes from the glands of the
k)agina. In the firft cafe, it (lops
Upon the menilrual purgations ; in
the latter, it flows with them, and
continues even in pregnant women*

Running ulcer i are like wife
comprehended in this dodrine, it
being ho way furprizing, that the
foremehtioned caufes fhould in-
creafe the difcharge of ^»x, efpe-
cially in thofe parts, where the
lax pliant texture of the body
makes little or no refiflance to the

Q^. diftcnfi-

98 Influence of fun and moon

diftenfion of the vcflels. Hence
in ulcers of the head it has been
found, that the patients are in
great danger at the new and full
moon.

The beft method of treating
nephritic paim, is to begin bj
blood-letting. And it will be of
fcrvice to the patient, to obferve,
when the paroxyfms are wont to
return, and to empty the veffels,
at the time, which threatens the
greateft danger. For it is well
known, that this difeafe is partly
occafiohed by the comprefHon of
the fmall du6);s of the kidneys
from the fuUnefs of the capillary
arteries; which fullnefs is increafed
by the new and full moon. Whence
I have more than once wondered,
that the chief bent of the writers
on this difeafe is, to drive down
the gravel into the ureters and

bladder.

upon human bodies. 99

bladder : whereas the difIe6tion of
dead bodies has taught me, as I
have mentioned before, that the
firft rudiments of a calculus are a
very Xmn^iA ferum in the caruncles
of the kidneys ; and that this may
harden to the confidence of ftonc,
will not feem ftrange to thofc,
who are acquainted with the at-
tradivc force of falts in fblution,
and with the effeds of obftrudli^'
ons in the capillary veflels. And
hence it is, that calomel given now
and then is of greater fervice in
the begining of this difeafe, than
any diuretics : becaufc this medi-
cine removes the obftrudions of
the minute veflels, and thus pre-
vents the cohefion of faline parti-
cles, which is frequently the con-
fequence of fuch obftrudion.
Moreover, daily experience fhews,
that too fi'ee an ufe of diuretics is
prejudicial in dileafes of the kid-

O 2 ney$;

100 Influence of fun and moon

neys. Which obfeiTation has not
been fufficicntly attended to by
fome phyficians, who not only
patronized a certain monftrou^
jumble of a medicine, till the le-
giflaturc was wrought on to purr
chafe the fecret at an immenfe
price ; but ftill go on to drench
their patients with it, and thereby
injure the ftomach, kidneys, and
bladder.

r

, Afthmatic diforders are likewife
hightened by the lunar adion,
both on account of a lefler quan-
tity of air taken into the lungs in
each infpiration, and of the dif-
tenfion of the veflels by the rart-
fied blood : wherefore the returns
of the fits are to be obferved, and
guarded againft by moderate eva-
cuations, as blood-letting, gentle
vomits, laxatives, and fomedmes
cathartics. Bu|^^ery thing that

heats

upon human bodies, lei

heats the blood, (hould be care-r
fully avoided, efpccially about the
ufual times of the paroifyfms : be-r
caufe there is generally then a
lurking fever ; which ought not to
be exafperated by heating food or
medicines. Upon this fcore Hip-
pocrates advifes perfons labouring
under difficult breathings tq abftain
from clamors and anger (t). An4
Van Helmont obferved, that afth-
matic paroxyfms return more fre-
quently infummer than winter (uj.
For which feafon, the proper me-
dicines in this difeafe, befides thole
above mentioned, are fuch as are
cooling, and at the fame time pro-
mote urine ; as vinegar of fquils ;
fpirit of nitrey ; gas fulphuris^
which is water faturated with the
fumes of fulphur; and fcveral

others

«

• (t) Epidem. lih. vi. \ (u) De ii/ibm. et
JeEt. 4. j tujfu

tot Injluenci of fun and moan

others of the fame nature, enu«
merated by fir John Floyer,

To what has been faid above
on crifes in acute difeafes^ it may
be worth while to add this one re-^
mark. Although great care fhould
be taken, not to raife any com-
motion in the humors on the com-
ing on of a crifis ; yet there are
cafes, in which there is a necefiity
of making fome evacuations: as
for example, if the fever runs Very
high, the humors are fo agitated,
that no fecretions can be perform-
ed. In this circumftance phlebo-
tomy is fb ^ from obflrufting,
that it promotes the crifis : in the
fame manner, as in the fmall pox
and meafles, before any appear-
ance of the puftules, when the
turgefcence of the humors is ex-
cefllve, taking away fome blood

facilitates

upon Jjuman bodied. 103

facilitates and haflens the erup-
tion.

The cafe is much the lame
with critical abfiejfes, wherein the
fuUnefs and feverim heat are Some-
times fo great, that they require
moderate evacuations, either by
bleeding, or purging. For it is
to be obierved, that the reafbn,
why the ancients condemned
purging in fevers, was, that the
mofk of their cathartics were very
violent; vt&fcammonyy black helle-
bore^ juice of /purge, and others of
the like acrid nature: upon which
account they contented themfelves
with emptying the inteftines by
clyfters. But as we have always
a good flock of gentle c£^thartics,
we may fafely give them at any
time of the difeafe, without the
leafl- appreh^nfion of heating the
body J e^)ecially if nature points out
this way, as fhc frequently does.

I Corollary*

164 tnjiudnce of fun and mdoH

Corollary.

Wherein the preceding reafoning is
confirmed by obfervations of thi
effeSis of fiortns on the human
body,

AS i<re have endeavoured toi
prove in the begining of this
treatife, that the celeftial motions^
which occafion certain diflemper^i
and their periods of returns at
ftated timesj are likevvife able to
raife winds ; and that we feel the
different eBfeds of thefe, acciord-
ing as other caufes concur to put
the air into violent agitations : it
may not be amifs io give fomef
few inftances, how mtich this rea*
foning is confirmed by fa£ts.

On the twenty-fixth of No*
vember^ 17031 there arde a moil

furioua

up6n human Bodies, lO^

furious ftorm of wind a little be^
fore midiiiglit, which lafted up- ^
wards of fix hoyrs. The hiftoiy
and whole theory of this wonder-
ful phaenonaenon I fliall not at-
tempt to compile. This province
was by the Royal Society conferred
on the learAed dr. Hal/ey^ who
was every way equal to the tafk^
Wherefore I mall only touch on
fome circumftances of it, whicH
more immediately relate to the pre-^
fent theme.

• • * - •

The moon was tlien in hsxperU
geum^ and near the diange : and it
has been proved sbov^) that both
thde circuiin^lances contribute to«
wards attra^ing the air upwards,
and r^fing winds H. Accoxd-
i^gly, the barometer was lower
th^i ufual {x\ and the fubfequent '

R tides

1 a8g.

toS Infiuenci ^f fun and tnoon

tides were very high. And moft
probably there was a concurrence
of one or more of the other caufes
ahready afligned (y)^ tho' it might
be dimcult to conie at the know-
ledge of them : but as the ftate of
the weather in the preceding fea-
fons of the year i& cw eaiier, and
perhaps not lels ufeful, confidera-
tiqn;- I fhali rermark, that in thofe
places particularly, which felt the
rage of the ftoirm, the (ummer
and part of autumn weje remark-
ably wet; and the winter was
liihered in by ogca. wa*m weather ;
ib . tJiat a thermometer, ^ {whofe
^'eezing point w^ about eighty
four) was very fddom below a
{luodred to the latter end of iV^(9-
vember (z),. Hence we may form
a probable conjedure, that the at-
mK^here . was . Uend^d with vaB:
f quanti*

iipon human Bodies, toy

quantities of faline and fulphureous
exhalations ; which, by their vari-
ous combinations and agitations^
at length * gave that xleftru6ive
force to the motion of the aif.
And" this conjecture is confirmed
by ^ the * fiafhes or - corufcktions>
which were obferved during the
ftorm; and' by t|ie faline particles
found the next day on the leaves
of vegetables, cvei^ at many miles,
diftancc from the fea t where the
grafs ki fome places tafted fo falt^,-
that the cattle did iiot care to eat

It. ;.-.,.

J'

Inst BAD. of profecuting this
fubje<Sl farther, I think it may iH?j:
be amifs to fubjoin this remark ;
that as the new or full moon is ca-
pable of caulipg thc^ alterations
in the human bpdy,. which wc
have already mentioned, even
whe» it- is not icconded by anjt

' ' B. a ojchoc

io8 InJIumce Cjf/un and moon

other caruie ; fo if it be accompa-
nied with a tempeftuous fliatc of
the weather, . the cficds will be
the mOfC fepiibly ielt. An4 *»-
<ked[ I my Jcli rerijcmber, that
Several perfbns complained partial-
larjy of head-a<;jis the very night
of the- i^rm. But the qaie of a
lady of quality of my .acquaii>-
tance is very remarkaU e^ who was
iiruck blind in an inilant that lamp
night Her ^hlindneis was the
dfMv^oafrtc of the. Gr$eh^ or the
guttaferena of the modern phyfi-
cians : and as this is a diftemper,
which does not ifeem to me to be
iuiHciently underft6dd, I wifl c^er
TBSf ^i3ght8 on ittin ^W Wdfd&

The caufe of it is generally
either an obilrudion aitd, fiibie*
quent diftenfion of . the : ca^lary
arteries of the Retina y or fbmein-
jury done to the optic nerves, la

the

1

upon human bodies, 109

the firft kind, which is vaftly the
more common, the £ght is dark-
ened gradually; in the laft, the
fight is loft, fometimes fooner,
fometimes kter, according to the
caufe, and ibmetimes infine m an
infant. For the optic nerres are
li^ied many ways, and rendered
incapable oi paforming their of-
fice : as by a Wow, fall, fracture
,or deprefiure of the fkull they are
.often comprefi^d; in convulfions
they are fometimes loaded with ex-
traVa&ted humors: and not un-
cottimonly they are ieized with a
fckklen palfy. And in the difi^-
tion c^ perfbns, who had been
long afflided with epilepfies, I
have obienred, that the optic
•nerves were {M'efied on by an ex-
^rava&ted lymph collected juft o-
ver the place, where after their
jundion they feparate, to run to

the

110 Influence of fu?t and moon

the. eyes:, and .m paralytic difor-
ders I have found tlie fibres in that
place wafted and dry.

I COULD produce a nuniber of
obfervations from medical wi^itere
in confirmation of this dieory :
but ' I believe the following few
may fuffice. FfUx P/aterus, a
physician of great experience," ob-
served, in the difledion of a dead
. body, a tumor, refeftibling a glandy
hfmg on the optic nerves, and oIh
firuSiwg the pajfage of the animal
fpirits tothe eye.{a).Guemerus Rol-
.fimius found both the optic nervet
iioafiedy in the body of a woman^
which he opened (^). yohannes
Scuketus (c) ik\^ the optic norves
sivafied t9 half their ufual ftm^^inthe
body of a woman^ who had had tt

guttA

la) Obfervat. lib. i. \ - (c) Armament, ti^
(b) Dijfert. anat. I rurg, ob^. 36.

M..

Upon butnan hodUt: \tt

gutta fir ena for twenty years. And
the Epbemerides nature curioforum '
contain the unfortunate cafe of a
young girl, who, from a bhm on the
left part of the head, wasfeized with
& fever and delirium, then hji her
fight, and died foon after. Upon
opening the head, a great quantity
if limpid feruM was found in the
ventricles of the . brain, efpecially
forwards, where it entirely com-
prejfed the optic nerves (dj, -

Now 2& to the cafe of the lad/.
{Iruck blind during the norm, I
think it no difficult tafk to ac-^
count for that misfortune upon the
foregoing principles, by laying,
that the moon's adion, vaiUy in*
creafed by the concurrence of the
dorm, was capable of obftruding
the pafiage of the animal ^irits to
the x]ptic nerves in a tender conlH-

tution,

{i) P)i, mfitUau. cmtf. aaoA iSi^*

1 1 a Influence of fun and moon .

tution, as efledually as if thefe
nerves had been cut through ; and
confequently of giving rife to the
guttaferena.

Concerning the uie. of this
theory, J can iafely {ay, that it
has pcanted out to me the true me-
ihpd of treating this diflemper,
which before my time was gene-
rally efteemed incurable: and as
the true knowledge of the caufes
of difeafes is a fure foundation for
pradice, fo I have fucceeded in a
number of trials on cafes of this
Idnd. Wherefore when the'ca-^
pillary arteries are the feat of the
difeafe, die pn^xer medicines are
tkofe, which moft effeftualiy at-
tenuate the vifeid humors, and
remove the obftrudion : and fuch
are the chemical preparations of
mercury. And thefe are to be
continued a good while, and fre-
quently

^upon human bodiet. 113

firequently even to raifing a faliva-
tiori, which is to be kept up twen^*
ty or thirty days.

BtJT when the difeafe proceeds
from a defedt in die nerVes, it re-
quires a different method cf cure
ftom the preceding one ; and is to
be Varied according ta the injury,
^hich the netves have received.
But it plainly appears from what
has bten faid, that this foecies of
the guttaferena is generally incu-
table. For who, but the almigh*
ty maker, can pretend to reilore
to the optic nerves their natural te-
nor, either when obftrudled, of
their " cavities ftreightened by a
vifcid lluggifh humor, or when
wafted and fliriveled up; or to
make a free paffage for, and give
a due impulfe to the animal ipirits,
when thofe nerves are become para-
lytic ? But if any hopes remain,

S while

114 Influence of fun and moon

while the difeafc is yet recent, a
cauftic is to be applied to the
crown of the head, over the meet*-
irig of the coronal and &gittal fu-
tures; and then X)a& periojieum is
to be laid open, to make an out-
let for the noxious humor from
the brain. And this ulcer, like
common ifTues, mud be kept open
with peas, and continued a long
time : in the mean while the pati-
ent is to be put into a courfc of
nervous cephalics, as wild valerian
root, Ruffian cajlor, gum ammoni-
ac, afa foetiday volatil fpirits and
falts of the animal tribe, ^c»

But to return to ftorihs ; there
happened a moft violent one in
England, on the third day of Sep-
t ember 1658, the day of the
-death of Oliver CromwelU As
we have no journals of the wea-
ther for that year, that ever came

3 ta

. upon human bodieh 115

to my Jmowledgc, I .can fay no-
thing of the preceding ftate of the
9ir. But this is remarkable, that
the ftorm happened near the au-
tumnal equinox^ and about the
full moon : which concurrence of
caufes is very well adapted to ftir
up great commotions in the atmo-
Iphere. However that be, it is to
be obicrved, that the difeafe of
that great man was of that kind,
which we have fliewn to be parti-
cularly under the moon's influence.
For it is upon record, that he died
of a fever accompanied with grief,
from the unhappy ftate of his do-
meftic affairs : and it is very cer-
tain, that grief difpoies the animal
ipirits to be ^afily ajffedcd by
caufes of this nature.

But to come to a conelufion
of this little work; it has been ob-
ferved of thofe countries, which

S 2 arc

T^

^

1 1 6 Influeme ^f fun and mom

are fubjed to inundations, that
thcfc calamities generally happen at
the times, when the moon^s a<9:i-
on is moft powerful: {o that the
learned Baccius {e ) fcems to have
reafon fpr his conjeflure, that the
chief caiife of thcfe evils is to be
fought for ;n exccffive high tides,
with the unhappy concurrence of
the attradjvc feculiy of this or
that pian€t.

Such are the natural caufes of
fiorms and hurricanes t but as to
the queftion of the divine power,
whether or no the wrath of the
Almighty fends thefe calamities on
mankind, contrary to the ordinary
courfe of nature, I will not take
upon me to determine, who have
no intention to difengage men's
minds from the bands of religion.
For tho* I am thoroughly convincr

ed,

( €) Del 7'evere^ lih. Hi. f.izid

upon human bodies, tij

p3, that each part of the univerfe
is conftituted and moved by cer-
tain laws ; and that the fame di(r
pofition of the fabric, which i$
the moft convenient for the whole,
fometimes brings inconveniencics
and even deftruftion in fome par-
ticular places : y?t it is highly e-
quitable, that the omnipotent cre-
ator fhould be allowed to have an
^bfolute dominion ov«r all his
works. And poilibly it was agrc^^
able to the divine wifdom to create
the world in fuch a manner, ^t
natural caufes fhould now and then
produce evils and inconveniencies
on mankind ; whom it was necef-
fary to affright with ftorms, thun-
der, and other extraordinary phse-
|iomena, in order to keep them ia
fi continual fenle of their duty.

The £ n d^'

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I.

THAT the fun and moon
caufe various alterations in
the human body^ according to
their different fofitions 'with refpeSi
to the earth* Page i,

CHAP. II.

Of the difeafeSy and fymftoms^
which derive their origin from the
abovementioned caufes, p* 3^

CHAP. III.

Of the benefits accruing to the
praBice of phyfic from this theory,

p. 84.

COROLLARY.

Wherein the preceding reafoning
is confirmed by obfervations of the
effeSis of fiorms on the human
body, ' p. 104.

♦ c A TREA-

[ "9 I

I N D E X I»

Of Subjects.

A.

JiBSCESSESy cmical, ha«^ to* b^ tm^d,

Agrigektvm delivered from a plague by Rmftdn-
cUsy xnu

AiR^ very wbdy ibout die ccjtlittox^, 4. Various
properties of it^ 5*27. Its elevation* various^ ac*
cording to the differeitt pofitioils of" the fun and
moon, 8. Its highth in the atmofphere, 13. Ma«
xiy of its pa^rticles heavii^ thun water, 2 a. Its
preflure on the human body, and the difference of
preffure at different timeS; 30. Its violent mo-
icio!!^ as In ftonn$, ^fts th^ it^oon's aSioxis
108.

Ancient^ aftrribed feveral difeifes and their re-
turns to the moon, and other celeftlal bodies, i. 2*
Why they ufed few medicines in fevers, 66f
Why they rejefted purging in fever$, 103.

AKiMAts, according tp JriJiotU^ die only in tha
ebb of the tide, 83.

tio I N D B X I.

Asthmatic disorders frequently periodical^
and imder the moon's ibfluence, 63. Their caufea^
100. Return oftener iii fummer than winter^
lOi. Their cure, loi.

AsTROLOGYy judicial, may have fomewhat of
truth blended with its jargbn, 3.

ATM0SPHERK9 fa Am.

B.

Barometer obferved not to fubfide at the new
and full moon, 17. Theory of its rife and fall,
18/ Its greateft variations are eiFedted by winds,
19. Its variations inconfiderable between the tro^

Sacs, 19. More confiderable in northern than
buthern latitudes, 19. Obferved to vary confif* "
derably about the equmoxes, 20. Why its &11 is
an indication of rain, 21. In the great ftonn of
1703, it was lower than ufual, 105.

Beauty of a young lady depending on the moon.

Bodies, animal, whyafFe&ed by the changes of the
air, 26*

men's, have a monthly increafe of weighty

57-

weak, fii Valetudinarian's.

m *'

Calculus, human, progrefs of its formation, 63*
99.

Centrxevgal force, fff Force/

CRI^Efy

Of Subjects. 121

CititES, ancient doarinc of, 66. 73. Why rc-

jcded by the moderns, 66. Whatacrifisis, 79.
How it may depend on the moon, 8i* How it
may be promoted, i02.

CjtiTicAi, DAYS, the ancient notion of, 7$«
Indices of them, 76.

CromwellV remarkable death, ii4«

Diabetes, a fpurious periodical, 61.
Difficult breathing, fee Asthmatic dis«

ORDERS.

Diseases, fubjeiE): to the lunar aSion, generally
arife from a vitiation of the animal fpirits, 37*
Arife from repletion, 85.

-»' . i ' epidemical, tb^ir laws and c^ufes explained^
7+-

E.

Eclipses, folar and lunar, prejudicial to the (ick^
69. EflFe£^ of the lunar on lord chancellor Bacon^
71. Effed of the folar of 1715 on the fick,

Egyptians reprefented the moon by the Cymce^-
phclufj why, g6» Kept monkeys in their tem-
ples, why, 96.

Elasticity of the air is reciprocally as its prefo
fure, 14. Is deftroyed by fulphureous fumes, 23.

Epilepsy. That the fits fometlmes return with
the new and f^ll moon, 38. Confirmed by Gm^

tit INDEX h

St. Thom^', b^p,^^, 38. By die cafe of 7

»r from PcrfMtn, 39. By a fttmikr caft from

■uT' .:?9- The fit. fomtim* correC

with the t,^8, 43. Why the ancient. callSit

*7* • .

EpitEPTic MAD, whQ ft) called, 47.

r.

Fkvers, why the ancients mqde gr^at account of
crmcal days in them, 66.

-epidemical, are caufod by fome noxiaat

qualu..;s m our atmoffher^, and ai« influenced by
the moon, 68. ♦

— -. p?ftilentiul, at Modena, obferved to bcaf.
feSed by the moon, 68f

Fistula in ths abdpmen, under the lunar influ,
cncc, 58.

FliroR AiBUs obferved to return regularly at everr

ttn'LolT' ^^- Tr ^""'"'^ «n<J why it fo,pe{
tunes obferves monthly period*, 97.

^*ile^^ ^^fr^^'J^woAt, to raife the fea,water at

the e<}uator computed, 12.

^^-wlJr. ,5!^ "^ *^' "^'"""^ highcrthanth,

3 G,

pf Subjects^ taj

G.

Geometry ufcful to phyficians, vi.

God has made the world to the beft advantage for
the whole fyftem of animals^ 32* Should be al«
lowed the abfolute dominion over all his works^
117. Why he fufFcrs evils to befoll men, arid af-
frights them with ftorms, thunder, &c. 1 17,

GuTTA SERENA, theory of, 108. Cafe of a
fudden blindncTs of this kind, xo8« Some caufe$
of this difcafc, 109, no, MeAodof cure, 112*

Hemorrhages, periodical, are fometimcs ob^
ferved in/men, and why, 52. Cafe of a fpitting
of Wood returning every new moon, 53, P/n
cairne's own remarkable cafe of a bleeding at the
nofe, 54. Hemorrhage at the thumb returning
with the full moon, 55. At the forefinger, pc-
riodical, 56, Method of cure, 95.

Hysterical disorders partake of the nature of
the epilepfy, 4^. Their periods Ihould be re-
garded, 47. Cafes from Pitcairne and P/VJ, 47,
48, Method of cure, 90,

I.

iNFtUENCE of the moon is obferved, not only by
philofophers, but even by the common people,

^^'Lr^T''* ^:^^^^y '^PP^'^ 3t thofe times,
When the moon's adioni? moft powerful, 11 6,

Are

124- INDEX i;

Are attributed bj Bauius to exceffive high tides,
and the attmdive beaky of fome of the pl^uiets
unhappily joined together, ii6. '

Lunatics, epileptici are fo called by fome aii«
tbbrs, 38.

M.

Madkess, fits of, which keep lunar periods, are
generally accompanied with epileptic fymptoms,

46.

Monthly evacuations of the fex are influen-
ced by the moon, 51. Method of cure, 93.

Mooic, new and full, occafion chaises of weather,
4* Its effedls on (hell-fifh and fome land-animals,
65^ Some quadrupeds have periodical difcharges
chiefly at new moon, 96.

JIephritic pains frequently obey the lunar at-
traSion, 60. Mr- Jinfworth's cafe of a fup«
prefHon of urine every full moon, 60. Cafe of
a periodical capUhrum miSfus^ 60. Cafes of a £r-
ahetes fpuria^ and of viplent nephritic pains with
the full moon, 6 1- Cafe of an involuntary dif-
charge of urine at full moon, 6^. Method of
cure, 98.

O.
O^^EAi^i its n^ean depth, 13^

j^ Subjects* ^25

P.

Palsies obferved to be periodical^ 49. A paralytic
cafe, in which the fits returned every new moan*
4^. Another, in which th^ fit$ agreed fometim^
\vith the tides, fometimes wkh the molioa of the
fun or moon, 50. Method of cure, 91. The
^iiciehts dipped idieir paralytics ih the fea, 92.

PARALVtIC DISORDERS, fit PaLSISS.

PssTiLENCE beh'eved by the ancients to proceed
from the ai^er of the gods, xiv.

Physic formerly accounted a part of phflofophy,
XI. Its founders were famous geometricians, xU
Was feparated from philofophy by Hippocrates^
xvu

Plague, yjf Aorigektum, Pestilence, Se-
LiKtJs« . Is affedled by the moon's a£Uon, 73.

Planets, fhe other, increafe ordiminiflithe adiea
of the fun and moon on human bodies, 34*

Pythagorean numbers in difeafes efpoufed by
Hippocrates J 77. Rejeftcd by -^Af//tf Ax, Celfus^
and Galeny 78*

QjTADRUPEps, fome, have naoitfbly eva€uat[ons>
96.

IL

Rbasqn and EXPERiBNCft are the two great pil^
Ian of medicine^ viii.

RESPi-

126 IKDEX I;

RispiRATiOK, theory of, '27*

St. ViTut't BAVCfl, its MaipAm^ 41. Its ttt«
tuve, and mttbod of cute, 92.

Scythian woiftEN, why.not very fruitful, 52.

Sblinus dcUir^rei fiom & flagut by Bmpiduhf^

XIT.

Sophists and rbax. physicians^ whoibcaJkdby
Hippocrates^ xix.

Spirits^ animal, particularly iiHucncod by the
moont 37.

Stars, their rifing and fettii^ have a great elFeft on
diftempeny 2.

Stsphbks, Joankai her remedy for the ftonecen*
fared, roo.

Stonb, fif CALcxrtirs and Stbprbks.

jSxoRM of 1703, with^ its effeds on fick people^
1(^4. That (? 165^ happened near the autumnal
equinox, and about full moon, 115.

T.

ff HERMOMBTtR ftood high before, at, and after
the ftorm of one thoufand feven hundred and
three, io6.

9EI0N TI of HhpocraUs^ explained, 34.

Tides,

tf StJBjkcTs. 127

TifaES, Newtonian theory of, 7. Their varieties
are owing to the united 6t divided forces of tho
fun ^nd moon, 7. Tides of the water and air,
their ufe, i6.

TRADE-wiNpd, V^^ha^, Igi Owe their rife to iit$
heat of the fun^ 24.

VAt£TUDi!^ARiAK« are very feofibte of the changes
of the weather, 32.

VsHtigo rtearlv related to jthc epSepfy^ +7. Fre-
quend^ ofeeys the lunar influence, 47. Is ^ dif-
eafe of the eyes, 49. Its cure, 89.

t/i-CERS, running, are under the moon^s influence,
58: Thofe of the Head are dang&coks at new ait^
ft|ll j&oon^ 98*

Watir is void of ckftidtyi ai* It* weight with
refpcft tQ air, ai. Its. vaft rarefadlioft in va-
pors, %i.

Weathj^r-qIjAss, fee BaroMblter;

Winds, thdr natulre expkunodi 6.. Their, varioto
cauft«> 24., 25..

U INDEX

[ i»8]

INDEX II,

Of Proper Na m es.

A.

Aelianus, CI. xii.
AiNswoRTHjHenry, 60.
Alexander Tralli-

ANUS, 38.

'Apollodorus, xii. xiii.
Apuleius, 38.
Aret^us, 46-
Aristotle, 83.
.asclepiades, 78-
Athek-«us, xii.
AuLus Gellius, 65-

B.

Bacc I us, Andreas, 116.
Bacon, Lord Verulam,

Francis, 71.
Baglivi, Georgius, 58.
Ballonius, Gulielmus,

69.

B'ARTHOLiN, Thomas,
39. 61.

Bellini, Laurentius,
xxi. 90.

BuLLicHius, of Copen-
hagen, 61 •

C.

Cjelius Aurelianus,

47' 9^'
Celsus, X. xi. XV. 78.

87.
CocKBURN, Profeffor,

54-
Columna, Fabius, 89.

CR0MWELL,01ivcr,II4.

D.

DeMOCRITUS, XV.

Desaguliers,

Of Propeii Names. 129

I>EIAGULI£ILS, J.Thc- — xix. 2. 34. 52. 77.

oph. 21. 88. loi.

Des Cartes^ Renatus, Horus Apollo, 96*
xxi.

^lEMERBROECK, If- K.

brandy 73. Kepler, JohaniijEs, r.

Diogenes Laertius, Kerckringius, Theo-

xii. dorus, 64*

£• L* ^

Empsdocles, xiii. Linden, Joh.Antonidw

Etmu^I-ER, Michjicl. Vander, 94. .

94. LuciLius, 65.

F. M. ,
Floyer, Sirj6hn, 63. Manilius, 65.

102. MusGRATE, William^

Freind, John, 94. 55.

G. N. .
Galenus. a. 38. .47. Newton,' Sirlfaac, vi.

75. 78. 79. vii. xxi. 7. 10. II. '^3.
Galilei, Galileo, v.

Gesnerus, Conradus, P.

96. Panarolus, Domini-

GoAD, John, 4. cus, 87. 89.

Gregory, Dr. 54. Piso, Carolus, 48. 49*

Groenvelt, John, 62. Pitcairn, Archibald,

xxii. 39. 42. 47. 54.

H. 58.

Hales, Stephen, 23. Platerus, Felix, no. •

Halley, Edmond, vii. Plato, iv.

13. 19. 24. 72. 105. Pliny, the elder, x. 83*

H£LMONT,J.Bapt.Van, Plutarch, xiii.

63- loi. Pythagoras, xi. 77.

Hippocrates, ix. xv.

Rv

Jjo INDEX ll, &c;

EvDBNriAM, Thdnwfj
K. «. 7*.

RAMAKZiNi,Bernaram>

17. 20. 68- 69. T.

feoLFiNcius, Guernc' TorrIcelli, Evangi^
iui> no. lift, V.

TOLpius, Nicolaus, 59.
Si 60.

Ianctorius, San<^o- TrsoN, Edward, 46^

rius, 57.
ScuLTETUi, Johaiuici, W,

ii«i Willis, Thdnuij xxu

ft R R A T U M-

I'jgc 96. fen« 19- for "«" <"«' A'' '"'""i 'f*^

\

c